Rogue Magic (Dominant Magic Series Volume 2)
by Lisa Marie Keck
Summary: The Dominant Magic series continues in an all new saga of love, friendship, and redemption; one that leaves Ryann Stone with a whole new set of truths to wade through, and whole lot of bodies left in her wake.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

"Hear anything lately?" I asked Dom, it was a pointless question but I felt compelled to ask it regardless. It had been two months since Ryann disappeared with the rogues, much longer than any of us thought she would have been gone. We had a few leads on where they had taken her, but none of them ever proved to be true. We had been meeting like this at D's twice a week since her hearing, and even though the information well had been dry for a while.

"Nope," Dominic said, running a hand through his hair. He was taking her absence hard, with everything that came out during her hearing I understood his frustration. He just wanted to get her back to see if they could fix things, to see if there was anything left to fix.

"It's killing me Cole, I don't know what to do anymore. I have checked every lead I could and none of them have come up with anything." He looked over to Juke and Luca, sitting on the other side of me. Their faces didn't hold any good news either.

"Anything?" he asked them hopefully.

"I haven't heard a thing Dom, I'm sorry," Juke said back. "I have every contact at the Academy that I trust keeping their ears open on this. The school year will be starting soon, I'm just worried I won't have enough time to put into this once I'm teaching again." He grimaced at the thought, as did I. The likelihood that we would find her alive was decreasing by the day.

Luca looked like he was ready to explode. He might have been taking it just as bad as Dom. They still weren't getting along very well since it came out he and Ryann had slept together. I knew he didn't have the same kind of feelings for her that Dom did, but Dominic wasn't so easily convinced.

"We just need to keep checking the campsite and checking our leads," I told them. Ari was staying at the campsite every chance he got, outside of his own cases he was working. He wound up being a very good asset in this whole mess, we all considered him a friend before, but he was part of the family now. Everyone except Dom that is, he ignored Ari almost completely, I think he could sense Ari's feelings for Ryann and it wasn't something Dom could deal with. Not on top of everything else.

"Something will happen, someone will slip up with some credible information, and we will find her." I said it with as much conviction as I could manage.

"Yeah, but are we going to be finding her dead or alive?" Luca blurted out to me, he looked like he didn't mean to say it out loud. It was always in the back of our minds though, and the same worry was echoed on our faces.

"I think those thoughts are better left in our own heads Luc, right now we need to stay positive. It's getting harder to remember why but I know we just need to try," I told them. "London is going to try to dream walk with her. They haven't done it since they were kids so I hope it works. Maybe she can give us some information about where she is." I was thinking it was our best shot at finding a good lead. She was working on it with Ari and they were able to make some progress. I wasn't going to mention that to Dom though, it was still a bit touchy for him to think of Ryann with him. They seemed to have something there too and I'm sure Dominic could feel it too.

"Ryann would have to be sober enough for that Cole," Dominic said to me. I nodded my head, understanding that was probably the main reason that London was having such a hard time reaching Ryann.

"She is with the rogues, not out on vacation," Luca said, he sounded like he really wanted to believe it too.

"She will come back, we just have to be patient and vigilant. We'll find her," I told them. They all nodded in agreement and as if on cue we all raised our glasses.

"Best while you have it use your breath, there is no drinking after death," Juke said, trying to muster a smile as we all threw back our shots.

When we placed them back down Juke looked to us and said, "Gods, we need a new toast."

**Chapter 1**

After almost eight weeks at this camp, I was still getting challenges. They weren't coming every day anymore, but it was still often enough to keep me exhausted by at end of the day. After that first night, and the rogues that thought they could take me on, others began thinking it was a good idea too. Reynold and Steph tried to talk some of them out of it, but they always ended up insisting it had to be done.

As to why they felt the need to challenge me, well, that differed with the person. Some thought I was a spy, and others just wanted to take whatever spot they thought I held at the top. Idiots, one look at my interaction at camp would tell any sane person that I wasn't a decision maker here.

All the fighting didn't bother me, unless they tried to come at me at night. I liked my sleep and being woken up to fight someone was a quick way to piss me off. I was a damn shape shifter, my night vision was almost as good as it was during the day, so using the dark to an advantage wouldn't work with me. Not that anyone was smart enough to realize that.

You wouldn't hear me complaing, I was getting in some much needed practice. I was fighting better than I ever had been before, my technique in the hybrid form was impressive and lethal. I didn't have to worry about losing control here, I could care less who I tore to shreds. I had only snapped a couple of times, after the first time I took out part of the crowd they decided to set some ground rules.

Someone with brains decided they needed to keep their numbers strong, and we now fought to submission only. They even made up rules on when and where the challenges could happen. I had to fight in the cages now, with a minimum of twelve hours' notice before the fight. The arena was reinforced with silver, and always armed by some of the rogue guard members.

Once word got around about what I could do, there was always a gathering crowd for the fights. I could see people jockeying for a good spot to see the action. I tried to hold back as much as I could, but sometimes I had no choice but to go all out. When it came down to it, I had yet to be beaten, the end result was always the same.

Outside of all the fighting, I was met with pretty strong resistance form the community members. They made no move to welcome or talk with me, and it served me just fine to keep it that way. When I got curious and asked some people, I found out the main consensus was that I was not wanted. They called me unnatural, a threat, they said I could never be trusted, you name it someone called me it.

It was thrown around I was planted there to infiltrate their cell, which had to be the predominant theme when they talked about me. This made it clear that my mother hadn't let anyone in on the events that led to me coming here.

It was even said that I was there just to mate with Reynold and Trenton, this one usually set me on a war path, and ended with the gossiper in the medical tent. The gossip mill at camp was as bad as it was at home. Of course, most of these were never said to my face, everyone had seen me fight enough to not want to court my anger.

The main downside to all the fighting was that I had little time to plan any kind of escape, I had yet to find a patch of land around camp that wasn't warded or guarded. When Steph said that it was heavily fortified, she wasn't lying. This was possibly the best case of witch work I had ever encountered, every inch of this place was covered. Needless to say, I never met said witch, if I had I would have killed her on the spot and gotten the hell out of dodge. I guess they knew that though, and it was the main reason she was kept separate from me.

As for my mother, well, I had managed to not say one word to Aurielle in all my time here. After I had found her outside her tent, I had put the pieces together fairly quickly. I spent the entire night pacing my tent, fuming and trying to figure everything out again, almost wearing a hole in the bottom of my bedroom. What I couldn't figure out that night, I quietly asked around about in the hopes of getting some information.

I found out from Steph that Aurielle was behind the deal with Kyle, and orchestrated the rest of the events that followed, up until my Council hearing. Steph didn't want to talk about things further, she said I had to talk to Aurielle to get the rest of the story. I needed to get the rest of the story, but I couldn't imagine talking to her without trying to kill her, and somehow I didn't think that would end well for me.

I still didn't know what her main motive was to unite these rogues. I still didn't know what her endgame was, or how she was going to be using me. It was childish and stupid not to try to talk to my mother. The worst part was I knew what I was doing, it was a waste of my time here not to be gathering information. But every time I looked at her, I wanted to rip her throat out. I couldn't get past the anger, it probably didn't help she looked just like Kyle. It was like a nightmare wrapped in a nightmare, and I couldn't think of a plausible solution that didn't involve me murdering them all in their sleep.

At the end of the day, nothing change the fact that my own mother had orchestrated everything, killed any chance I had to make a decent future for myself. In a way, the idea of having someone to blame was liberating. I was still too stubborn not to carry guilt about what I had done, but I could finally shovel some her way.

"Another one Gus," I tapped my glass and moved it closer to the bartender for a refill. It was no surprise to me that the camp had a makeshift bar, soldiers and alcohol went hand in hand, and it was a relief to know it was there. The mess hall, that at night contained the bar, was in a big tent at the far end of camp. At the back part of it, someone had built a long wooden bar top held a dozen or so stools. Some sat drinking at the tables in the middle, I could hear poker games going tonight, and some sat here and there in the large space surrounding. It was so typical looking, if I got just wasted enough, I could pretend I was somewhere else.

Gus raised an eyebrow at me. "You sure about that Ryann?" he asked me, looking with concern.

"No one comes for me at night anymore big guy, everyone knows I'll kill them if they come in my tent and wake me up," I told him. I liked Gus, I thought to myself for the thousandth time, he even looked like a Gus. He was in his late forties I would say, with a large frame encased in thick muscles, bright blond hair that he kept short, and a perceptive eye that missed nothing around here. He worked with some of the weapons during the day, and every night we had a standing date here.

"You have to slow down a little kid, or you're going to drown in all that self-pity. At some point you will have to face your demons. How come you can kill all those morons that challenge you, but you can't fight against what's in your head?" he asked me, pointing and touching the side of my temple. It was my opinion that bartenders were the wisest of all beings, and I threw him an appreciative glare that held the promise of violence if he continued without pouring my drink. I was not in the mood tonight.

"Oh Gus, stop being a buzzkill. I have so many demons right now they might encompass their own ring of hell. I just want to get through today," I said, a familiar phrase leaving my lips. It was my mantra the last two months. It wasn't healthy but it was all I was capable of at the moment. Gus refilled my glass rolling his eyes at my comment. He had heard it enough times he knew it was coming.

"You could try getting to know people. The only people you talk to are me, Steph, and Reynold. Maybe if you tried with some of them, they wouldn't hate you so much," he said motioning towards the crowd before him. I could hear them all going about their business, talking, laughing, and arguing with one another.

"Gee thanks Gus, what a pep talk." It was my turn to roll my eyes. As he was about to talk I cut him off, "I just have to get through today." I was starting to repeat myself, and that last one came out with a slight slur at the end.

"They're not coming for you Ryann." He said it on a whisper to me and even though he didn't mean for it to hurt me, I flinched back. I had, on one particularly hard night, divulged some facts about my past. I spilled about home, and about my friends. He never brought it up, never broke our unspoken agreement to forget I ever said it, until now.

"Sweetheart look at me," he said bending low over the bar and pretending to wipe some stain away. I obliged him, he was my only real friend here and I owed it to him to at least let him talk.

"They will never find this place. Even if they did it would be a death sentence for them. Aurielle will take pleasure in taking them out, you know it too. By now, who knows what they think. You need to get your head out of your ass and figure something out. You either open up to what we are trying to do here or you get the hell out. And you do it soon." I was shocked at what he was saying. We always kept our conversations away from camp talk, away from anything that could get either of us in trouble. I knew he was here of his own free will, he chose to follow this path. Just as he knew, although no one else did, that I was forced here.

"I know Gus, I know. I just don't know what to do anymore. I feel like no matter what, I'm backing myself into a corner." Once I made a decision it could either save me or ruin me. If I sat blindly in the middle I could survive, for now.

"My advice, if you don't want to be here you shouldn't. I'm here for my own reasons and so are many of them. You are judging them as much as they are judging you. You get to know people and what's going on here and then decide. If you still want out, make it happen. It might not be pretty, and you might not make it, but you have to try if that's what you want. If they bring you to battle, and you turn on us, it hurts us all. I sure as hell don't want that. There are many others that feel the same way." He stared me down. Was he offering me help, or serving his own warning?

"Why are you nice to me, why have you always been helpful to me?" I asked, trying to focus on his face. He was so confusing sometimes, and through the haze of my alcohol I found him especially difficult to read tonight. He steadied himself on the bar, and took a visibly large breath in before talking.

"My wife was chipped. We had fallen on some hard times shortly after we were married, and she took it upon herself to steal some money from the council office she worked in. She deserved to be punished, she broke the law, but she didn't need to be chipped for it. Her Council was mad because she had stolen from them, and they gave her the maximum punishment. It killed her, being chipped, it was a slow decline but one that she never recovered from. She couldn't take it after a few years, and she killed herself. That should never have happened, it all could have been avoided.

"I think it's time for a change, and if you think that's bad, my story is not uncommon here. You survived five years out there, exiled, alone, and chipped but you survived. I have respect for what you did, I respect that you never gave up. I have no respect for the Councils." If he kept rubbing that spot any harder he was going to dig a hole through the wood, I covered his hand with my own, in a gesture of apology and a need to ease his pain.

"But do you agree with what is going on here Gus? I can't be the only person here who was blackmailed into helping. They want to wage war on people who are innocent. Not everyone is corrupt, most of the councils are upstanding members of the community, what about them?" I countered.

"I don't agree with forcing people, no, but the collateral damage is part of any war. I am willing to sacrifice it. It's my choice to be part of it, knowing what could happen, and I think everyone should make that decision on their own." He looked at me strangely, like he really wanted me to understand what he was saying. And I could understand where he was coming from, even respect it, except for one thing.

"That collateral damage could be my family Gus, I could never let that happen. I would kill everyone, even you, before I let them get hurt." My hands were shaking at the thought, I couldn't let that happen.

"Then it looks like you made your decision, so you best be making some moves to do what you need to do. Fast and careful now." He really looked at me now, knowingly. A small smile tipping his lips. He wanted me to figure that out, and it left me wondering if he was being forced to be here too.

"What about you? How could I leave you here and not get to share my nights with you anymore?" I smiled back at him, going for a joking tone. I didn't want to scare him away but I wanted to know if he would come with me, if I could count on him to help. I thought I saw his eyes flash for a second, but the look on his face was gone in an instant.

"Oh no, I'm in it for the long haul, for Renee. I know many here that share my feelings about why there are choosing to be here. We might not all agree with what Aurielle has planned, but we will stay. Some of us must stay and see this mission through, you get me Ryann? Perhaps, we just all believe in change. In changing the Councils, making the community better. And perhaps we would follow someone else, if she had the ability to do it a smarter way." He gave me one last look and then left to refill one of the beer kegs, leaving me weaving on my stool and unsure of where to go from here. I had a sinking feeling, it wasn't going to be good news for me.


	2. Chapter 2 & 3

**Chapter 2**

"Hey giant maggot," I called out as I came into my tent. She was curled up in the chair next to my bed, strumming the guitar someone had found for me. Steph had become something of a friend out here, if I could even call her that. She was still violent, defensive, and strange, but she seemed to like being around me for some reason. One time she even stuck up for me when someone was pelting me with rocks one afternoon.

As much as she helped me out sometimes, Steph tended to run very hot and cold. One minute she would be trying to talk to me, and the next she was complaining I wasn't doing enough around camp. It was enough for me to think twice before getting into a conversation with her, I had grown to be very adept at reading her.

I wasn't surprised to find her here, she had promised to scrounge up a guitar for me if I would play for her and teach her when I had the time. She was slowly trying to pick up some of it on her own, something about her family being very into music. The fae were very musical, it was one of the things they loved the most, outside of playing games.

"You needs to tune it a bit more, the notes are a bit sharp," I told her, it was a miracle anyone could understand me with me sluring all over the place. Half the sentence ran together, and the words were almost indistinguishable from one another. She started working on it, and I stumbled over to the dresser to take off my riding clothes.

I spent most of my time riding, I missed it so much when I was exiled and I seemed to be overcompensating out here. If I felt like I was in a good mood I would teach a little, give pointers on tacking and how to ride, only to the ones who I liked.

"You smell like a stable whore," Steph said to me wrinkling her nose. I didn't defend myself, I knew I smelled bad.

"You look like a stable," I retorted back to her, pathetically making no sense but giving me a fit of giggles in the process. Man, I was really zinging them tonight huh?

"Good one Ryann. Next time it's better to compare me to the horse. Inanimate objects don't really offend anyone." She was laughing at me and I had to join in, finding it impossible not to admit I was acting ridiculous.

I threw my clothes in the hamper and ran to the side of the tent to grab a shower. I shifted some while I was soaping up, burning off some of the alcohol on the off chance I needed to be sharper. It was a delicate balance, if I amped up my magic too much I would lose my buzz completely.

I could still hear the strumming, so I knew she was still in my tent. I dried off, hung my towel up, and pulled on my robe. It was red, silk, and complete heaven, being the only night time garment that didn't have blood on it. It was lush, and I intended to keep it that way.

I found her looking at me from the chair she was sitting in. She looked tired, but I didn't know why. I hardly saw her at all during the day so I had no clue what she did around camp. Usually, I only saw her during dinner and at night, here in my tent. I needed to start waking the hell up and do something, or something was going to get done to me.

"I'm ready Steph," I said to her while letting out a long breath. She gave me a surprised face. "I think I've reached my bottom here, I can't spend any more time drowning in pity. Plus I may never walk right again if I spend the rest of my life on a horse, even if my ass looks great," I said, throwing up my robe to admire it in the mirror. She laughed, but kept a skeptical eye on me.

"It's about damn time too kid, we thought after what your father did to you it would have taken no time at all to be on board with us. I'll set up a meeting in the morning with Aurielle. She has been quite anxious for you to come around." I looked at her disbelief all over my face, knowing full well she was lying her ass off.

"Bullshit Steph, my mother would never be anxious about anything. Pissed off, annoyed, maybe even frustrated at me, but she wouldn't be anxious. She has no clue how to have real emotions, how to really feel. Look at what she did to her daughters. One is dead, and the other one had…problems. If my story has proven anything, it's that no one can ever really know Aurielle, or be safe from her wrath. She serves only her own purpose, and it would behoove you to remember that, I might actually like you." It was a clear warning, and I was starting to kind of like her, so I hoped she listened to me.

"Don't lecture me. I know who she is, and what we are doing here, far more than you ever will. You need to remember that too. You have too much to lose to not be careful about what you do, about what you say, especially to me.

"My warning, keep your ass in line and do what you're told. If everything goes right, you can be home and with your precious friends in no time." She didn't even say goodbye after that, she just stormed out of the tent.

I should have delighted in the face that it seemed she wanted me to get back home. But I knew it was all lip service, I knew they had no intention of ever letting me go back. I was in too deep for them to just leave me alone after all of this was done. If they thought I bought that ridiculous story, they were idiots too. I just had to make the right moves at the right times, and keep from getting killed in the process.

I spent some time that morning, before getting out of bed, thinking about how I was going to handle my mother. Steph had left me a note that I was to be having breakfast with Aurielle, Reynold, and herself a six sharp. I didn't mind, I had never been one to sleep very much, and it was a curse that if I drank the night before I would wake up early.

There was a large part of me that wanted nothing more than to be stubborn, refuse to talk to her and give her hell. However, I also knew that if I wanted to get out of this mess, I would need to play it smart. I had so many questions, so many things I needed to say to her, but I was going to have to wait it out before getting what I wanted. I got dressed in one of the few dresses that were provided for me. It was a long summery number, l white with two thin straps that crossed in the back and a hem line that skirted the ground.

I looked at my hair, it was wild and sticking up in the oddest places. I had to get rid of the dreads when I decided I was going to spend so much time riding. The dreads were hot and heavy, I soon realized, slapping my back when I rode and almost impossible to keep out of my face. Getting that dirty during the day, had to take twice daily showers, and I needed something I could really wash clean on a regular basis. I admit, I almost cried when I convinced one of the witches here to change it back for me.

Before it was still long and slightly curly, tightly knotted into strands, but it was now smooth and silky. It shined an almost bright red in the sunlight, a vibrant color like blood. I tried to tame it with a brush, having destroyed it in the night, but I gave up and pulled my hair into a large bun on my head instead. I walked out my tent and made my way over, only managing to flinch once when I saw her face inside.

"Good morning Aurielle," I said to my mother, as I made a move to take a seat. It was the most words I had said to her the entire time I had been here. I was going for a bored tone, but it was hard to do with my heart beating like a jackhammer in my chest.

She almost chocked on what she was eating when I spoke to her, and it gave me a huge amount of pleasure at the thought of rattling her a bit. In the next instant her face had smoothed out completly. And there is the mother I knew, gods what a woman.

"Yes, it is a good morning Ryann," she said back to me, looking out her tent screen at the sunrise. I spotted Reynold sitting next to my mother, with Steph flanking her other side. They were eating already, so I thought I would do the same.

There were tables full of food everywhere in the tent, even she had to admit it was a bit over the top. Scattered throughout the traditional breakfast items were rare pieces of meat and glasses of blood, discreetly contained in colored glasses. It didn't matter, I smelled it several feet from the door, and I had a feeling most of the camp could as well.

Some vampires did not enjoy normal food, only having the stomach for blood, but I liked a good mix of everything. Since I was basically a mix of everything, it fit. I picked up a glass of blood, it was still warm, I could feel it even through the colored glass. She should have just asked the donor to stay, what's the point in drinking out of a glass if you have a live body on hand?

I downed the glass, and went at fixing myself a plate of food. I had no choice other than to sit on the other side of the long table, there was only one other available chair, facing down all three of them. I used my time to eat two full plates of food, and few cups of coffee mixed in with some blood. I didn't feel the need to make small talk with any of them as we ate, and thankfully they didn't either. When it was clear we were all done avoiding each other, Reynold spoke up.

"Steph telsl us you are ready to take up a more active role here. Is that what you wish?" He looked more intrigued than anything else. Reynold and I had an understanding after that first night, though we were far from friendly. We held a professional relationship, but I had to admit he did treat me with respect.

He was a shapeshifter, a jaguar to be specific, and like most of his kin he valued strength above anything else. I didn't know where we stood personally but I knew that he had my back with the others. It was an interesting yet confusing relationship, only made worse by the fact that he liked to stare at me when he though I wasn't looking.

"Yes, I think I have sulked around long enough. I only ask that if I am going to be helping you out, that you put a stop to the challenges. I can't both work with you, and keep myself fit enough to defend my position." I thought it was reasonable. Aurielle wasn't giving anything away, from the look on her face I could be talking about the weather.

"I think that is fair. In what capacity would you like to be helping out here?" My mother said it to me with all the enthusiasm of a depressed invalid. She looked ancient in that moment, like a true immortal.

"I think that would be more up to you all than anything. You know where my strengths are at, riding, weapons, and hand to hand combat," I said, quickly listing them off on my fingers. I knew what I wanted to do, but I was more interesting in getting information about what her plans were for me. She nodded to Reynold, and he took over for the rest of the time. Well that's interesting, they must have discussed this beforehand.

"We think working with the riders would be a good fit for you. We need someone to be teaching them how to use their weapons while riding at the same time. You have experience with crossbows?" he asked, and I nodded in return.

"Crossbows and compound bows yes. I can also do some work with firearms if you like," I told them confidently.

"That would be helpful, but you will not be handling guns just yet." Aurielle finally spoke up, a scowled eye was studying my reaction. I would have to be really careful with her, I had to remember that she was the biggest threat to me here.

"That's fine, though we both know that I could kill you without them. It makes little difference to me," I told her, flashing my hand in dismissal. If what I said bothered her she didn't show it.

"It would be hard to take down Ryann, so don't go all bravado on me. You and I both know I am the only real match to you here. Pair that with my rogue guard, and Steph and Reynold here, I have real doubts about you being able to pull it off. Even with that ugly mess you call your half form." She looked like the idea of it was repugnant to her. Gods she was a bitch. What made it worse was that she was right. I wasn't sure I could take her, even without all the others.

"Putting all that aside," Reynold continued on, "I think your best fit would be riding. If as we go you prove to be useful I could use you in the combat classes in the future." He almost looked hopeful for the help. Teaching someone to fight was much harder than one would think, and not everyone was good at it.

"That sounds fine to me, feel free to send me a schedule and I will adhere to it," I said rising from the table. I wanted to leave before I did something stupid.

"I didn't say you could go Ryann," Aurielle said to me just as I was turning to leave. The time for her to tell me what to do was over.

"Nope you sure didn't," I said back to her as I left the tent. Fuck her, fuck them all.

**Chapter 3**

"Another one Gus," I said tapping my glass impatiently, I realized I was like a broken record. I had five standard phrases out here, it was no wonder why everyone kept their distance from me. I shook my head when he looked ready to chastise me, I had a shit day and I really needed to just fall into something nice.

"Going that good for you Ryann?" He said back to me on a chuckle. He knew too well that the riding lessons were tiresome. Two solid weeks of riding and teaching were starting to wear on me. I thought back to Steig, the riding instructor back at the Academy, I had no clue how he did it with all us teenage idiots back then. At least I had mostly adults to work with here, he must have been a saint to put up with us.

I had three sets of students that came almost daily, working with them in three hour sessions with little break in between. They gave me some days off when they could, but for the most part I was used almost every day. I hadn't even bothered to shower before coming in, it killed two birds really. I got to drink faster, and it assured me lots of personal space around the bar top.

"Yeah Gus, it's going great. Today I got to teach the bimbo twins how to cantor. It was really satisfying to see them in their short shorts and fake cowboy boots get a chance to shake their boobs for the guys in class. I almost took and arrow to the back because of it." He threw his head back and laughed at my story. I shot him the look of death. He didn't keel over, damn, I was going to have to work on that.

"It's Kendall and Kim, no the bimbo twins," Reynold said to me, sitting on the stool to my right. I was surprised to see him here, he never came out of his tent at night. I had seen him playing poker a few times, but never with a drink in his hand. I looked over at him and noticed Trenton was on the other side of him. I tried not to scowl at him, we still hated each other.

"I'll take a scotch, neat," Reynold told Gus. Trenton ordered a beer, and then we all descended in pregnant silence.

"I reserve the right to nickname when the situation calls for it," I told him suddenly, remembering what he said when he sat down. "I had to block an arrow that Yancy was shooting from hitting me when he saw them circling in the ring like that. They looked like they could be the Miss June and July in the Rogue pinup calendar." Both of the guys were laughing, and I joined them tentatively, not sure what to make of their friendliness.

"You are doing good work with them Ryann. Don't get too discouraged. I noticed some of their range shooting has improved from what you have been doing with them in the ring." I felt better just hearing that. Some days it felt like getting through to them was like wading through quicksand.

"Well my old instructor used to say if you could shoot the target on the back of a horse, you shouldn't have an excuse to miss the target when you were standing still," I explained, feeling oddly nostalgic. I missed Steig, it made me wonder if I would ever see him again.

"Wise man, by any chance would this be Steig you are talking about?" I choked on my beer for a second when he said his name. I realized in that moment, I knew nothing about Reynold, absolutely nothing about his background. That was a problem, if I wanted to outsmart them, I had to know as much as I could. Gods I was a waste sometimes, what they hell was I doing out here?

"Yeah he is still at the Academy, he must be about a thousand years old by now, but he refuses to retire. Did you have the pleasure of getting your ass kicked by him as well?" I asked, wondering if we shared a similar background. I hoped I was sounding casual, my pulse was getting flighty.

"Yeah, though I actually _went_ to the Academy with him." He said it without any drama, but he had to notice me choking me on my beer again. Holy shit, that meant Reynold had to be at least two hundred years old. Well, that was an estimate based on how old we all thought Steig was. One of the downsides to immortality, was after a while remembering your exact age can get difficult.

"There are about a million questions I can think of to ask, but all I want to know is if he was always that much of an ass?" I asked, slapping a hand over my mouth. I didn't really mean to ask it, but if you knew Steig you would be thinking the same thing. Reynold found it amusing rather than insulting, laughing and smiling at me, which was a relief.

"He was the same way when we were eighteen. I would imagine he is the same way now, I haven't seen him in almost a century," he said throwing back another drink. Information was finally coming my way, I needed every bit I could get.

"Did he make you muck out the stalls for year or something?" I asked, noticing that particular memory wasn't sitting well with him. Steig was known to doll out punishment in pounds of manure, and I was wondering if he was on the receiving end of one of his lessons. It was very effective, disgusting but effective.

"No, I killed his wife."

He said it with no inflection, no emotion. And this would be the point where the record skips. I was at a loss for words, what is the appropriate follow up to that, offer condolences?

"I am unsure what to ask next Reynold. I am just going to finish off this pint, and then ask the first thing that comes to mind. If you want to answer it great, if not, try not to hit me too hard. I have class at seven tomorrow." He was fighting a bit of a smile, but he inclined his head for me to continue.

I finished off my pint and hopped behind the bar to refill my own glass. Gus raised an eyebrow, but let me do it anyway, he was a good guy.

"Did you kill her on purpose?" I asked him. It was the only thing I could focus on, I guess it was the only part of the story that mattered to me. I wasn't sure what that said about the person I was, it was more of a reflection of my decisions.

"Yes and no. We were having an affair, his wife and I. It was a mess of a time for me then, she was mated to Steig but it was arranged, as many of the matings were at that time. We were in love before she was ordered by her father to marry him, and we continued the affair after. Steig and I knew each other, we weren't friends, but we were friendly.

"Eventually, she became pregnant with my baby, and we planned to run away. Back then, adultery was a crime, we had to be careful about how we did things. We were caught sneaking out one night, and tried through our shifter Councils.

"We were both exiled, thankfully there was no chip technology back then, but we were separated. She was cut off from her family, from all support. It was hard for her, we sometimes sent letters, but when it came time to give birth she didn't have anyone with her to help. She labored herself, in a cave she was staying in, and had complications from the delivery. She died, and so did the baby. So yes and no, I never wanted her to die but I killed her. No doubt, I should have stopped pursuing her once she was mated, but we thought we were doing the right thing then. The idealism of youth is a very dangerous thing." He ended his story at that, with little fanfare or drama. I looked to him, and he didn't look too affected by telling me it. Time is a fickle friend.

"I attacked my friends, almost killed my own team, and thought I had lost my baby, which turned out to lie all be orchestrated by my mother and sister." He looked at me, a questioning smirk on his lips.

"I just thought we could share fuck ups. Yours is worse, but mine is pretty bad too. Oh and I had my magic suppressed by a chip for five years. I had to find protection from a mobster, and sleep with half of the community guard to get them to leave me alone. I got hooked on coke for a while, among other things, and now I am pretty sure alcoholism is in my future. I am in still in love with my former mate, and I am probably in love with a human, a gods damn, hot ass, tough as nails, human. His wife is dead too," I said with a slightly maniacal laugh. It felt good to joke about it, it was wrong, but it felt good.

I had no clue why I shared it with him. I didn't want to think about finding some sympathy for Reynold. The idea we could relate to each other scared me shitless, what kind of person did that make me? Bad guys are easier to deal with when you can put them in a clearly labeled box.

"Ari?" He asked me, guessing which human I was talking about. I didn't get the sense he was digging for dirt. Maybe he did just want someone to talk to, I thought it couldn't hurt to bond with him. Perhaps I could use him if I needed to later on.

"Yeah, it will never go anywhere but sometimes fate cannot be helped. It must run its course, whether it leaves bodies in its wake or not." I didn't mean for it to apply to Reynold but in an odd way it did, he didn't need to be told a lesson that like that.

"How true that is Ryann. How true that is. Do you have some oracle in your lineage? I don't think Aurielle mentioned it, but I'm curious. You are very wise for one so young." He was leaning in to my space, looking from eye to eye. I didn't get the creepy vibe at all until now, there was something just a little off about all of this. It was so confusing, why was he talking with me?

"Aurielle likes people to know exactly what she tells them, nothing more. To answer your question, I have had less interaction with my mother than you have. We never talked when I was a child, then again I did spend a lot of time in my cage. Aurielle doesn't deal well with things that could hurt her image, so she gave me a good bit of distance." Most of my nightmares were from those nights in that cage.

"Why on earth were you in a cage?" I heard someone ask. This came from Trenton, he looked horrified at what I said. Good gods, I forgot he was there. There was something about talking to Trenton that sucked you in, I noticed my beer was full again. Gus was the man. I shouldn't have drank so much, I was losing focus. I couldn't even shift here, it wasn't a good idea with all these people around.

"As you all know, I have shared dominance, a perfect half and half hybrid. Which also means I have control issues. Just think about how I was like when I was a child. It was mostly fine, but there were times I was barely controllable. They had a cage installed in the basement of our house. Sometimes I deserved to be going in there, no question, I was a danger to everyone.

"But then there were times that they wanted to 'prevent' an episode. Those were the nights my mother had friends over. Every party, every gathering, every event they held at their house I was in that damn cage. They chained me to the floor Reynold, they chained me and sometimes they conveniently forgot I was there. That's when Cole stepped up and would remember to come over and let me out." I said that last part on a whisper, leaning into where he was sitting. I shuddered at the memory, unable to contain the shake that took over my body. I told myself I would never tell this story again. Why was I so willing to tell him now?

Trenton spoke up, cutting of his brother, "That's horrible Ryann, and to think you suffered all of that at the hands of your own family. Mothers are supposed to protect their children, not chain them down so they can party. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wonder, do you resent your mother for that, do you hold your parents responsible for how you turned out? It wouldn't be wrong for you to want to get them back for how they treated you. Maybe that is why you came with us, maybe you just came here to kill her." What an odd way for Trenton to ask if I was planning on killing my mother. I was starting to get really confused about everything now, I wasn't supposed to be talking about this. When I looked to Reynold he looked remorseful. I don't think he wanted to be here talking to me either.

"I thought my mother was dead Trenton. I never liked her, and I don't like her now but I own up to what I have done. No one has ever forced me to do something I didn't want to do. I am responsible for what I did, others may have helped me along down the wrong path, but the blame ends with me. What good would it do to kill her? If I wanted justice I would kill myself." It was a secret thought I had never voiced to anyone, a secret shame I didn't ever want to admit to. My eyes filled with tears. I saw the faces of my friends flash behind my eyelids.

Gods I missed them so much. I knew I had to save myself here, but it was so much harder to do without them reminding me what was waiting for me on the other side. I shook my head back and forth, I was rocking a bit on my stool. Something was wrong I kept on with my rant.

"Juke was right, they were enough. He said if I let them be enough, it would be. They are so much, that if I ever get back I will always let them. They are enough, they are so much they are everything." I didn't mean to say it out loud to them, that was a private thought spoken in disjointed words. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. Gus was giving me strange looks from the corner, he hadn't come over here for a while. He must be ashamed of me too.

I looked around and saw the reality of where I was staring back at me, I was helping out the rogues. I was a traitor, I was a prisoner, but could I both. Could I be both, or was I one or the other? What the hell was I doing here? I was so fucking drunk I could barely stay in my seat, the faces of my bar mates were weaving in and out.

"Am I a traitor or a prisoner Reynold?" I asked him, I was surprised I had the guts to just blurt it out. He looked in pain talking to me. He didn't say anything and I yelled the question back to him, "Am I a traitor or a prisoner Reynold!?"

He leaned in and pulled me into a hug, trapping my head by his. I took a big breath in and smelled his scent. It was clean yet musky, cats always had a strange smell. Gods, I was actually hugging Reynold.

He spoke softly in my ear, "You are a good person Ryann, a good person who came from bad people. You might be the best person here. But we are all in this now. However we all got here, we are all here now. I'm sorry for doing this to you tonight, but we had to know. I didn't want to do this to you, but she had to be sure." He leaned in and kissed me softly on the head and left the bar with Trenton in tow.

As soon as his weight was gone I promptly fell over, hitting my head on the ground by the stool. I could barely keep my head up. Gus came running over, bar towel in hand. As if I was watching it from another viewpoint, I saw him put the cloth to my head, I could smell my blood filling the air around me.

"I almost got myself killed because of you Ryann," Gus said to me, shaking his head side to side.

"I should make t-shirts with that on it Gus, I could sell one to every person that thought the very thing. I would be rich." My voice didn't sound like my own. It barely squeaked out of my own lips.

"What the hell was Trenton thinking? That amount could have killed you, it was enough to put down a horse." He knew what they were doing? I had only just figured it out after the last beer, and it was disturbing that he both knew it, and allowed it to happen.

"He fucking drugged me didn't he Gus. That bastard. Now I am going to have to spend the night in the shower shifting to burn this out of my system. My head feels funny, so do my arms. Are they still attached?" Gus broke a small laugh out, a look on his face that hinted he knew he shouldn't be laughing.

"Yes you are all in one piece kid. I don't know how, but you have a knack for getting out of impossible situations." He lifted his hand an winced at the cut on my head.

"That could be my superhero tagline. The girl that gets out of impossible situations at the expense of her sanity. That's too long though Gus. No one is going to shout that out to me on the battlefield." I was just rambling. I hoped someone got me out of here before I ruined my image and started raving like a lunatic.

Gus picked me up and put me in the little back room that led to the kitchens and pantry. There was a small strip of dirt that wasn't occupied so he laid me down there. He made me drink some water and I shooed him away when he tried to fuss over my head.

"They're not coming for me," I whispered to Gus, he frowned and then looked up as a shadow crossed over my face, indicating someone standing over me.

"I got her," I heard someone say above my head. Reynold appeared in my line of view and scooped me up off the ground. I was too far gone to protest much. I think I garbled out something that sounded like put me down, but I couldn't be sure.


	3. Chapter 4 & 5

**Chapter 4**

Reynold took me to his tent. It was twice as big as mine, and I squealed in delight when I noticed he had a tub. It was a big tub too, it could easily fit a few people.

"Of course you have a tub, you're a jaguar. Is this where you spend all your free time?" It didn't make much sense but he laughed, catching my meaning.

"Yes I do enjoy it. Would you like to burn some of the night off in there? I would take you back to your tent, but with the amount my idiot son gave you at the bar, I am concerned you will never wake up." He was shaking his head as he placed me propped up in a chair by his desk in the tent.

"Son? I assumed he was your brother. It's not easy to surprise me Reynold, and you keep doing that. Let's try to be a bit more predictable okay?" I said, patting his arm. I laughed a bit at the end, and he joined in.

I realized he had left my sight and I could hear the tub filling up with water. The scent of jasmine bath salts was filling my nose. I didn't think much about it as I stripped down to my bra and underwear. I had enough self-awareness to keep them on, although he had seen me naked before, it felt different here in his tent. I rose and stumbled into the bathroom. I found him leaning over the sink, head drooped down. I reached out and touched his arm. He snapped around and looked at me, he had such a look of sadness on his face. I didn't know him enough to know where it was coming from, but if I knew my mother, I could guess she was behind it.

"If you shift you can come into this with me, but only if you shift. I am not getting into a tub with you naked in your human form." It was a ridiculous line to draw, but I felt more comfortable with him in his other shape.

"You should be trying to beat me senseless, not offer me a bath." He looked at me like I had just professed my love for water knomes.

"I'm offering you the opportunity to relax. You look like you are strung tighter than a tennis racket. That and I feel like I left my brain back on the floor of the bar. I'm sure that I am not right in the head, but you aren't going to do anything to me. Not right now," I said to him as I stepped into the tub. I sighed a long breath as the hot water hit my skin. I immediately started to shift my limbs, arms then legs, arms then legs, getting into a rhythm. Reynold was staring at me, mouth hanging a bit open.

"You can isolate quicker than I have ever seen anyone shift. Would you…can I see your hybrid form?" he asked, stammering a bit. He didn't look like he was being creepy. Maybe he did, but in my current state it was hard to tell.

"If you get in here and stop staring at me I will. I am not a sideshow." I splashed some water at him where he was standing.

"Can I do my fighting form? It's a good mix, and this way I can talk to you in it." I thought about it, and it was fine with me. Why was it fine with me? This was insanity, I was so going to regret most of this in the morning.

"Sure thing," I said to him. He dropped his clothes and shifted. He was fast about it too, maybe five seconds beginning to end. He had gleaming black fur, and it was was similar to the length of mine in my hybrid form. It looked short enough to highlight his shape, muscular and long, with an intensity in his eyes.

I didn't realized how tall he was but he had to be close to six and a half feet. Almost as tall as Luca, I thought to myself sadly. His eyes were purely feline, and called up instincts of fear if I stared into them too long. His canines were huge, probably not as large as in his animal form, but they were impressive. He had good control overall. I guess over two centuries of practice would help him work on his skills.

"You think when I am two hundred I will be better at this than I am now?" I asked, somewhat more to myself than him. Just as Reynold was about to answer I cut him off.

"Of course I will never make it to two hundred, why worry right?" It was a sad thought expressed without sadness. It was just a probable reality for my life. My head was starting to hurt, which meant I was getting somewhere with the shifting.

I closed my eyes and shifted into my hybrid form. It took quite a bit of energy so it should burn enough off that I wouldn't do something too stupid. I head Reynold suck in a breath when I was done.

"It's really breathtaking Ryann. I have never seen anyone so beautiful in all my days. And I'm a bit closer to two hundred and fifty by the way," Reynold said winking. He reached out to touch my fur. It was much sleeker than most wolf fighting forms. Add into that the grace from my vampire form, and I had to admit it was quite stunning.

I didn't find it beautiful but many had told me they thought it was. I let out my fangs, that adding another unique aspect of my form. I had control over my fangs, most vampires, once they let their side take over, have no choice but to have them out. If I was calm enough I could retract and release them at will.

"Stop petting me now Reynold, my beast likes it too much." I smiled as I said it, I didn't want him to feel bad, but he needed to stop touching me. He retracted his hand, having the grace to look a little bashful about being so forward.

"Tell me how your son is vampire Reynold. His mother must have been quite the temptress for you to hold her down long enough to mate with," I said sarcastically. Mature vampire females were far more wild than most shape shifters. He grinned a wolfish smile.

"She was a fling after I had gotten out of exile. I went crazy for a while, well for fifty years at least. It was an act of defiance to sleep with anyone I could, partying with anyone I could, doing whatever I could. I thought I was showing everyone that I had control, that no one could tell me what to do anymore." I felt the same way, I did the same things. We both knew it didn't work, the look in his eyes mirrored my own.

"I did the same thing, only I did it while I was exiled. It's funny, I thought I was achieving that same control, but it only made me feel marginally better. Defiance is a difficult thing, at some point you realize that your act of defiance is just another way for them to control what you are doing. It becomes another way for them to define you." He nodded at me in agreement, and we remained silent for a minute in contemplation.

"Well, his mother wanted nothing to do with him after we slept together and now here he is with me. I tried to get him to calm down but he has too much of his mother in him to be anything but cruel." The shock registered on my face, I could feel the blood drain from it. It couldn't be, the universe couldn't hate me this much.

"Please tell me that Trenton is not my brother," I said to him, little stars were popping up in my line of vision. I couldn't handle that, I couldn't handle anymore. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if he told me that.

"Gods no Ryann. You mother and I tried when we first got together to make a child, now she has given up on the idea. You turned out okay, but I don't know what I would do if I had another Aurielle to deal with." This wasn't happening, I was not in a tub with my mother's lover. I groaned at my stupidity, this was a new low even for me.

He hung his head for a second before we both snapped around at the noise that came from the entrance to the bathroom. Of course, this moment would not be complete without a visit from Aurielle.

"That's no way to talk about me Reynold. I didn't make you sleep with me, if I remember correctly, you pursued me." Oh gods. No, I was just in a bad dream. He did not sleep with my mother, he was not sleeping with my mother. I slashed my claws at my thigh under the water, nope I was not waking up.

As Reynold and I sat still, both of us unmoving and silent, my mother decided to do the talking for everyone.

"I seem to not be enough for you anymore though. You just had to move on to my daughter to be satisfied. I am really sad for you Ryann, that all those rumors about you must be true." She turned her nose up at us, a look of disgust clear on her face. It was the most emotion I had ever seen on her.

She turned her stare on him, "And in your beast forms no less, how distasteful Reynold. You hate when I compare you to an animal, and yet here you are, about to rut like one." I had no words, this was beyond saving.

"Aurielle, I will be out in minute. As I briefed you before, there is no danger of Ryann turning of us. She is aware of what is at stake so insinuating that we were about to be intimate is moot. We were just enjoying a nice dunk in the tub, it was the least I could do after drugging her senseless just to prove she could be trusted." I saw my mother's accusing glare turn into one of pure malice. She was watching us for any sign of betryal. Apparently satisfied she saw none, she moved to retreat back to her tent.

"We will sleep in my tent tonight Reynold, I will expect you in five minutes. Do not make me wait." She said it without even bothering to turn in our direction, dramatically stomping out of the tent.

"You care for that woman? Reynold, you need to be careful. Those around her tend to get chewed up and spat out, or dead." He sent an almost growl in my direction. I couldn't cut a break with anyone here, no one seemed to want to be real here.

"You are the one that should be careful Ryann. Yes, I care for your mother. She can be thoughtful and caring sometimes, but it is her strength that attracts me. She is going to win this fight Ryann, if by no other reason than by sheer will alone. When she wins, I will be at her side and we will rule together." I wanted to correct him, I knew my mother would take all the power for herself. She would never share it with anyone, Reynold included.

"I'm sorry Ryann, I should not have taken you back here tonight, it was wrong of me to put us in this situation. I had a moment of weakness because you so remind me of Marie, of what she could have been. I respect you for your strength and determination to survive, do not throw that away now by doing something stupid. Your mother and I are no fools."

"Then you should know that neither am I." I stood up soaking wet fur dripping onto the floor. I didn't even give him a second glance as I left his tent for my own. I could have covered up but I wanted the talk at camp. I would welcome the gossip. If I could orchestrate it so that everyone could hear the two of them fighting, I would do that as well. Any advantage I could get here I would need.

I woke up the next morning and stretched while sitting up, letting my headache settle as I adjusted my eyes to the light coming into the tent. I looked to the left and found Steph, sitting up in the arm chair by the foot of my bed. If I were aware enough, I should have been scared I didn't notice her until then. I just couldn't form any logical thoughts at the moment.

She was drinking coffee and looking out the window mesh at the coming sunrise. She looked thoughtful, but after the last two weeks of her treating me like a leper, I was going to be very cautious around her.

"Something up? My head is pounding so I am not going to be able to understand anything outside of small words and short sentences." I really didn't have the energy after last night to verbally spar with her.

"Aurielle wants me to tell you that you will helping out with a new group." I groaned. The thought of riding with my head aching like this sounded like torture, I almost threw up just imagining it.

"Don't worry they won't be here until tomorrow so you have the day off," she said to me, she must have taken notice of the look of doom on my face.

"What time does she want me at the stables?" I asked her, noticing she looked lifeless this morning. Even though I didn't particularly enjoy her personalities, it was unsettling to see her so down. I shouldn't care, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was up.

"Oh, no more riding lessons for you maggot. You're moving up! Combat starts at seven, you will report to Reynold's second. His name is Cy. Tall Cambodian man, handsome smile, vampire. You really can't miss him," she said, a dark look crossing her face.

"I would remember someone like that Steph, even for a hermit like me." She looked at me with a sour expression, and rolled her eyes.

"He's coming later today, he's been gone." She had said everything this morning in a bored monotone, until it came to information about Cy. My guess was that she had history with him, and by the look on her face it wasn't going well.

"I thought Reynold said I was working with him directly?" I asked. She looked at me like I was being really stupid and laughed.

"Not after last night you're not. Hitting on him probably wasn't a good idea. Aurielle is quite fond of him, and he seems to be the same with her. After two months of hiding, you sure know how to stir things up," she said to me. I was surprised she didn't hear the real events of the night, and I made no real move to correct her.

"Yeah well, I can blame my drinking habits. Jack makes me fight, and tequila makes everyone better looking." I didn't want to tell her about last night if they didn't. I needed to keep myself out of trouble as much as possible.

Steph eyed me from the chair, I don't think she really believed my shrug off about last night, but she didn't press me for the truth.

"Why do you drink so much? I know you've been dealt a pretty bad hand but still," she said, looking to me with barely concealed distate. It didn't come out as an insult, I was guessing she was among a wide group that wondered the same thing. I didn't know how to explain it to her.

"I know it's not healthy, I know it doesn't make sense to get smashed like that, but it's something I just do. Some drink to numb the pain, but I do it so I can feel it. I need to remember, and drinking makes it safe for me to go back. I can't really explain it to anyone, it makes sense in my head." I was surprised to see some understanding mixed in with confusion on her face when she looked to me.

"That's a bit masochistic Ryann, even for you," Steph said to me. She wasn't wrong, but it wasn't that simple.

"Yeah, but the alternative is much worse," I told her. She raised an eyebrow at my comment, waiting for clarification.

"If I stop feeling, if I stop remembering where I came from then I risk losing myself. All the pain, all the joy, they are interchangeable in me, and often simultaneous in my life. I can't block out what happened, if I did I would become cold. I would become like Aurielle, and I don't care if I hurt myself in the process, I cannot and will not let that happen." Steph had put her mask back on so I couldn't tell how my little speech affected her. Enough of the deep talk, I needed to get myself sorted. I was going to enjoy this day off if it killed me.

She continued to sit there while I got up and went to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, but I could hear she had picked up the guitar to play. By the time I got back to the bedroom she was gone. I looked down and noticed she had pulled a blanket over to the chair I found her in. Had she slept in the tent with me? This group was strange. Just when I thought I knew someone, they did something and left me wondering what was really going on.

**Chapter 5**

I had breakfast in the mess hall, alone, which wasn't a bad thing for me this morning. No one even so much as looked in my direction. I'm sure before I came in they shared glances and secret whispers of what they heard happened last night, but it got so quiet when I walked in it was almost funny. I had to suppress an inappropriate giggle as a table became empty, just in time for me to sit down. When I saw Gus walk in, I sent him a small smile and a wave. I wanted him to know I was okay. He didn't return either, he almost looked mad as he sat down at a table towards the front of the hall. I decided to let it go for now, I tried not to jump to conclusions.

After that, I went back to my room and took a nap. It felt great until I remembered my dream. My whole body shivered at the memory.

_We were on a beach, Ari and I, and I was making a sandcastle. He was sitting next to me reading the paper in his trunks. His skin looked sun kissed and it set his brown complexion off nicely. He looked almost shiny and bright out on the beach with me. He was so handsome. I looked out and saw Cole was wading in the water. He was looking to me and yelling my name. I could see his lips form the words but no sounds were coming out. I tried to get up to run over to him but by the time I hit the water he was gone. Ari grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, grabbing me in a hug. He leaned my head back with his hands, thumbs at my ears. He looked into my face and gave me a scorching kiss. I stopped and looked at him again. He was shaking his head back and forth, like he was upset about something, but he dropped his forehead to mine and breathed me in._

_"Where are you Ryann. You have to come back. Come back to me," he told me. I didn't understand, I was right here, I could feel his flesh under my own._

_"I'm here Ari, I'm right here," I told him while I reached up and touched my own hand to his face. We were holding each other's faces, I was afraid if I let go he would disappear.._

_"No Ryann, you are there. I need you here. I need you," he said to me. He looked so sad, so lost. I dropped to the sand at the feeling of it all, the tower of the castle smashed beneath me. He sat down next to me._

_"I have to be here Ari, I'm not sure why but it is important for me to be here. I wish you were here with me. You light me up, I am always so dark but you light it for me. It's so dark here." My dreamy brain was having a hard time keeping on track. It was so nice to be here with him I didn't care what I was talking about._

_"What else is it like there Ryann?" he asked. We had both laid back into the sand. I realized we were close to the ocean, the salty waves were lapping my toes._

_"It's so dark. I'm not doing so well, I think it's too hard without you." Ari reached out and grabbed my hand, giving me steady pressure from his own. _

_"Nothing is too hard for you," he said to me as he interlocked our fingers. I turned and saw Aurielle heading down the beach at me, running with a dagger in her hand. I looked back over to Ari in a panic, but he was gone. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again, I saw the roof of my tent. _

That was one messed up dream. It was so real, it had me wondering if London was behind it. She was good at communicating in dreams, though we hadn't done it in years. If she was behind it she would have had to come herself, she couldn't take just anyone into my head. It would have to be her that came, if anyone would try to contact me that way.

It was probably just a bad dream, I realized sadly, if I was right and we were in central America, I was way too far out of range for anyone to reach me. I took a shower and drank some mimosas that I sneaked out of the dining hall. I drank the whole pitcher down in the attempt to shake off the feeling of Ari's hands on my face. If I closed my eyes I could almost feel them there again, the heat from his palms left a blush in their wake.

I spent the day fixing some things in my tent that I never got around to before. I repaired some of the riding gear that was starting to fall apart, I shook my head when I noticed my pants had more patches sewn in than original fabric. I missed my nicer pants I had just bought back home, they were so beautiful. I sighed, then caught and idea running frantically over to Steph's tent, trying to catch her before she left to do whatever it was that she did. I was surprised when I found her inside, looking a little mopey.

"Hey, I need some new clothes. Can we stop by the merchant tents so I can pick up some new pants. I could use some new soles on my boots too. Oh, and some clothes for classes tomorrow would be great. Can I do that without money, you all never gave me much other than what I use at the bar." Just the idea of shopping was lifting my spirits. Steph, never moving, looked unimpressed with my grand plan.

"You can get what you like, they will know to bill Aurielle for it. There is no need to bring me along." She gave me a stern face, looking serious.

"Come on Steph, you want to sit in here and pout all day. You hiding from Cy or do you want him to think you don't care he's back?" I asked, baiting her into action. That brought her out of her head. She glared at me, if they were daggers I would be cut in half.

"What did you hear about Cy?" she asked me, sounding angry. Not exactly the direction I wanted to go in, but beggars can't be choosers.

"I saw your face when you were talking about him, there is something there. I have no clue what that is, but I can recognize pain when I see it," I told her.

"How about we just agree not to talk about him. Better yet, when you decide to talk about Dom I'll talk about Cy okay?" Ouch, I guess she really didn't want to talk about him at all.

"That's fair, but you are still coming with me." When she looked at me again I added, "Get a move on giant maggot, I don't have all day and your ass is too big for me to drag out of here." A tiny smile tipped the corner of her mouth as she got up and followed me out, shuffling her feet heavily behind me.

"I'll take four pairs, and if you can get them tailored by tonight, I will make sure you are compensated well for your time," I told the seamstress in the back of the garment house. They really were the perfect fighting pants, dark burgandy in color with super wide pant legs made of stretchy yet soft material. The top of the pants had fabric that was woven in almost a braided pattern. They would move with me and hopefully be hard for my opponents to read my moves.

"That's fine dear, I'll have them brought up to your tent once they are done," Alina said to me. It wasn't delivered in a warm way, but at least she didn't deny my services. I gave her a smile and changed back into the dress I had on before, struggling against the fabric in one of their changing rooms. I was sweating already, the heat combined with the humidity was killing me here. Even at night I found myself sweating.

I thought about trying on some of the nicer dresses that adorned the front, but I took one look at Steph and decided against it.

"Can we go back now?" she whined at me again. I rolled my eyes at her. She had asked that same question after every store we went into.

"I just have to stop off to have the cobbler take a look at my riding boots. The sole is coming undone on the left boot and I have a hard time dismounting because it always gets stuck. Stop looking at me like that too, this isn't torturous for you. We haven't even been out here for more than hour," I said to her defensively, knowing I could make it so much worse for her.

"Little maggot, let's just wrap this up okay. We can get your pathetic boot fixed, and then we are getting a beer. It's a beer for lunch kind of day." She didn't look like she wanted to be contradicted, and I wasn't the type to turn that kind of offer down.

"I've never been one to turn down the liquid lunch Steph, if you behave I might even buy the first round," I told her as we exited the merchant tent. It was her turn to roll her eyes.

We were making our way down the aisle towards Gregg's shop when a thought came up.

"Why were there so many fancy dresses at Alina's shop? It's not like you all are holding any balls up here in the jungle," I said with a scoff.

"Actually we do. Aurielle insists we have one quarterly, she thinks it will inspire us to unite more. To remember that we deserve the fine things in life. I think she really just wants an excuse to throw a party for everyone, I find them pointless but most find it quite enjoyable. It certainly is a morale booster," she told me, not even looking up to catch the jaw drop her information brough on.

"That sounds like Aurielle. She used to host parties all the time at home. We had one at every holiday, every solstice, every birthday. I didn't attend the majority of them, but I've heard they are outrageous," I told her as we kept walking. Steph didn't look surprised.

"I've heard you didn't attend her parties. I also heard you spent them in the basement, locked away," she said to me. Her face held a silent question, she didn't pry me for the information. If she wasn't such a horrible person sometimes, I could really like her.

"You've heard right, but I was a difficult child, hard to control. They had the cage put in after I attacked the maid in my room one morning. I didn't mean to, she just snuck up on me and I reacted. I didn't hurt her bad, but the idea that I could do that to one of my parents friends scared them.

"My mother did not tolerate loss of control so I was relegated to the cage when she had parties. I would say they averaged twice a week. Eventually I went down there for dinner parties too. I attended my fifteenth birthday party though. It was right before I went to the Academy. My whole incoming class was invited, Aurielle was trying to impress their families. Cole, Dom, and I all got so drunk we started challenging some of the other students. It started out fun, but some of the fights spilled inside the house. We trashed the pool house, and broke the window going into my father's study. The formal dining room was destroyed. It was a mess, but it was worth it to see Aurielle's face when she found me on top of another girl, ripping her dress off as I hit her in the face." It was nice to have a memory of home that wasn't depressing. I felt a smile on my face, and I understood it probably looked a little demented.

"I would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of her wrath that night."

"Oh, she never said a thing. They just tranq'd me and I woke up a few days later chained to the floor. I should have seen it coming, but I was too busy enjoying myself. That was the last time I was in the cage, it took two whole days and a monumental act of will but I tore it down with my bare hands." I was still proud of myself for it. I realized no one was walking beside me, Steph had stopped dead in her tracks.

"You dismantled, by hand, a shape shifter cage? Made of silver?" she asked, staring at me like I had lost my mind.

"Oh, I was very motivated. It hurt worse than anything I have ever experienced, worse than any fight or pain I've experienced sinse. The cage wasn't as hard as the restraints they had put on me. I spent most of my time on those. Once I got free, I broke into the garage to broke apart then weld it to the point it couldn't be fixed," I told her. We were backing up some of the traffic in the walkway. I moved her into a space between two tents to avoid someone eavesdropping on us.

"Aurielle must have gone nuts when she saw it," Steph said shaking her head.

"I skipped town after that, by the time my mother had come home to check it out I was gone. I found out right after that she had gone for a little vacation topside, and went missing. My father searched for her, as did the community that she was closest to down there, but no one ever found anything.

"After a while a torn up body was found washed ashore on the beach near where she was staying. The story then was that they only found parts of her, but mostly important parts, and she was declared deceased. My father told me she was attacked by rogues at her beachfront hotel room in the Bahamas. Obviously, that turned out to be a lie." I didn't know whether Marcus knew about all this or if he was as blind as I was. If I ever got home, I was going to find out.

I looked over to Steph, I wanted to know if she was going to divulge anything more, but she wasn't there. Her face was carefully blank, but the look in her eyes was haunted. She was peering out across the shadowed alcove we were in, clear through the space and fixed on a far off figure.

I looked to where she was staring and found what I could only assume was Cy. He was exactly as she had described him to be. Tall, I'd say a little over six feet, with muscular shoulders that tapered into a narrow waist. He had a lithe grace about him, a very vampiric grace that was so particular to their race.

If he had an ounce of body fat on him, I would be surprised. His black hair was bit long, the front almost dipping into his eyes. But damn were those eyes magnificent. Even from here I could see they were black and deep, set in the handsome almond shape. He had a very masculine, wide nose, and high cheekbones that made for some interesting sharp angles. He could easily be a model, it made him almost too pretty. But the way he held his muscular frame said he was all man, he walked with a confidence that was only achieved through fighting.

The wind picked up and I caught his scent in the air. It was like a heavy musk accented with flowers, and despite its lightness it was dark and intriguing. I had never smelled something so alluring, not in all my days.

"Steph, he smells divine. Why does he smell so good," I asked licking my lips. I bet his blood was out of this world, the scent alone was making my mouth water.

"Yeah, I hear he tastes even better," she told me, still not taking her eyes off of him. "My advice though, don't get too close to him. He is almost as closed off as you are."

"Is that why you aren't together anymore?" I asked, purely guessing the nature of their relationship. I wanted to know more about them, I didn't know why but I was curious about what had the big bad maggot hiding in the dark like a child.

"Oh gods no we were never together. I knew him when I was younger, we spent some time in the same school on the outside. My mother and his father were exiled and we ended up in the same area at one point. He saved my life once," she sounded sad about it, almost wistful. I wasn't going to push it with her, if she wanted to share she would.

"That doesn't sound so bad, so then why are you looking at him like he ran over your puppy?" I asked her with a light laugh. I was trying to go for light and joking, maybe she would open up if I went about it casually.

"Long story," she clipped out to me. Steph didn't say anymore as she pulled my arm and led me in the opposite direction of where we saw Cy.

"I guess that means it lunch time," I mumbled to her, stumbling in her wake as we made our way to the dining tent.


	4. Chapter 6 & 7

**Chapter 6**

After Steph and I ran back to the bar the following afternoon, we found Reynold at the bar top. I stopped dead at the sight of him, trying to backtrack to the exit when she pulled me back.

"Oh no you don't little maggot. You dragged me shopping with you, so now you have to pay up." She pulled me in the direction of the stools, thankfully taking the open one next to Reynold. I sat on the other side of her, and the man that was taking up the stool to my left suddenly had to get up and leave. I was getting sick of being treated like a leper, maybe I wasn't showering enough.

I noticed another girl was working the bar. I wondered where Gus was, but shook off my paranoid concerns, he couldn't work the bar all the time.

"Hey Reynold, whatcha doing here so early?" Steph asked him. He looked more relaxed than normal. I could see several glasses of empty drinks in front of him, I had noticed his intake of alcohol was almost matching my own.

"Aurielle's gone for the day, she had to run into town with Gus to pick up some more supplies. I have the night free," he said cheerily, words slurring a bit. He must have gotten a doozy of a lecture from my mother after our bath the other night, and I didn't blame him for trying to blow off some steam. The girl came over to take everyone's order, giving me a glare when her eyes landed on me.

"I'll take a double tequila, ice, and small amount of lime juice," I ordered when it was clear she wasn't going to ask what I wanted. Reynold got another drink, and Steph ordered a scotch.

"Do you drink anything besides scotch? I don't think I have ever seen you order anything else," I asked her, tapping my fingers on the wood as I waited for my order.

"Everything else pales in comparison, I can't just drink anything in front of me like you can. I have standards." She seemed more teasing than anything, and I breathed a sigh of relief her mood wasn't in the toilet after what happened earlier.

"It's one of my special skills," I told her dryly. She laughed a little and we settled in for the long haul, I could tell we all were going to spend the rest of the day here.

We got up and played some darts, after spending ten minutes getting her to agree to it, and in the end I lost out to her. Her vampire was very strong, her senses were off the charts, and she hit her target almost every time. After a few more scotches, I had decided to join in with her, both of us were having a hard time hitting anything. I laughed when one of the patrons pulled a dart out of his ass, admittedly I may have aimed a little with that one.

Reynold was beyond gone by this point, he was laughing with us and talking like we were all old friends. We never talked about anything important, but it was clear we were trying to be friendly with one another. With all the tequila, on top of the scotch, I could almost pretend it was real. Almost.

By the time it had gotten dark outside, I was getting bored with sitting here. Bored meant my mind would wander, and that was a dangerous thing for someone with my past, as I would prove later on.

"How about we make a little wager," I asked Steph, a smile hitting my face at the idea. I needed to close this day out with some fun, I wasn't wrong when I told Ari it was dark here.

"Alright maggot, I'll call your bet. What are you thinking?" Her face lit up just a touch. She looked like she needed a distraction too, and I was all too happy to provide it.

"You win against me in poker, and I will drink scotch the rest of the month. I win, and you have to drink whatever I order you." I had been dying to play some poker for a while, but no one would play with me.

"Make it strip poker, and I'll fill the table," came a deep rich voice behind me. Steph and I swung around and found Cy staring back at where we were sitting. He had honed in one me, and was roaming his gaze over my cuves. I could feel him tracing the lines of my breasts, and it sent a shiver over my skin. I shook away some of my inappropriate thoughts, he smelled too damn good tonight.

"Ryann Stone," I told him as I held out my hand for him to shake, deciding to break the silence first.

"I know who you are," he told me, a breathtaking smile on his face. I think I might have gasped, the effect made him even more beautiful. I should never have let Steph talk me into drinking like this today, I had terrible restrait against gorgeous men. I looked over at her, she was shaking her head at me. It didn't seem like she was mad.

"Cy Zhang," he said back to me, firmly shaking my hand, lingering a second too long.

"So about that game?" He asked with a smirk when it was obvious I was staring at him. He was so pretty, my drunken brain was having a hard time concentrating. I should move away from him, distance would help, right? I looked over, and found Steph managed to keep her face even with him so close. I raised my eyebrow at her and she drunkenly shrugged, I took it as a thumbs up. Clearly what they had wasn't romantic.

"Your're on," I told him leaving to get up from the stool. I threw the rest of my drink back ,and headed to where the bartender was standing. I gave her the last of my money, far more than necessary, and asked for one bottle of scotch and one bottle of tequila. I grabbed a stack of glasses while she searched for the liquor. She reluctantly gave them to me, a menacing glare accompanying the drinks. I could care less what she thought of me. I would take the good times when I could, even if this idea was possibly the dumbest in the history of man.

I walked back to the group, bottle in each hand with two glasses stacked on each, and motioned for them to follow me. Steph looked for a second like she wanted to run far away, but ended up towing the line with everyone else. When we got to my tent I moved my round desk table to the middle of the room and pulled in the five chairs from Steph's tent. I looked and found Reynold picking up the guitar from the ground by my bed.

"If I win, you play for us," he told me, staring at the instrument like he wasn't sure what end was up. It was only fair, and it was a safe punishment.

"Deal, now go and shuffle while I play bartender," I said to him while I went to the dresser to make our drinks, managing only to fall once too. I could hear Steph and Cy talking as they sat down at the table, I couldn't make out what they were saying, but they used non serious tones and both of them looked more at ease than they did at the bar.

They immediately stopped talking as I approached the table, which wasn't so good for my theory they were just catching up. Must be important rogue talk, or she was warning him about me.

I almost forgot where I was for a second, it was a depressing thought that I was here, about to play strip poker with four enemies. It was getting tough to spot the bad guys now, they didn't seem so bad sometimes. I'm sure I was crossing a line having them in here, in fact I think this whole two and half months here I had crossed the line. Damn, but the lines were so blurry they were almost nonexistent.

With everyone seated, we got down to it. We talked and laughed some, the details of it all got lost in the haze of alcohol. I won, I lost, and in the end we all ended up in our underwear. Playing while that drunk, was a challenge to say the least. The hardest parts were making sure that you played on your correct turn and the bets were the right amount. Half the time I think we were completely out of turn.

"Gods, I am down to almost nothing but it's still hot as hell out here," I said to the table, feeling another drop of sweat travel down my back to the base of my spine. I had on my underwear and tank top. I chose that over sitting in my bra. It felt like I was slightly more covered up, which was ridiculous considering what would happen when I lost the next hand.

"Why Aurielle picked Cambodia is beyond me, outside of Cy here I don't know what the advantage is," Reynold said, finally giving me a good reason to stay at the table. I only had to get them smashed to all hell before they spilled some information, not that I was complaining.

"And what a fine advantage he is," I said turning my gaze towards Cy and raking my eyes over his chest. It was a finely sculpted chest and set of abs, it would have any artist drooling.

His flashed a fiery red for a second at my suggestive comment. I only partially wanted to flirt with him, the other reason was so that everyone would skim over Reynolds slip up. I wanted to keep the information flowing, I didn't want anyone to clam up now.

I started to shift my feet a little to try and counteract the alcohol. I was afraid someone would notice if I tried my legs, we were all sitting fairly close to one another. I looked to Steph, but thankfully she was even more intoxicated than I was, and currently was staring at her cards like they were the a treasure map she had to decipher.

"I am starting to see what all the fuss is about Reynold, she is magnificent," Cy said as he reached out across the table to touch a wayward strand of hair. I reached out and put the piece of hair back into the bun on the top of my head and got up from the table, not liking what his touch did to me.

"I'm going to play for a while, you all can finish up with the game. My head is starting to spin anyway," I lied. I didn't need to admit Cy was a little too tempting at the moment, they could probably smell my lust if they paid enough attention. If I was in exile I would have had him already, and that knowledge was burning through my brain.

"I'm going to shift some to burn some of this tequila off, otherwise my playing is going to sound like crap. Just a heads up," I said as I started to shift my arms back and forth as I tuned up the guitar. It felt like a surge of soberity flashing through my bloodstream, almost as nice as feeling drunk.

I didn't need to look up to know that they were all watching, it wasn't done rudely so I let them. I did my legs next, it felt so good I stood up and stretched as I did it. All of a sudden I saw Steph in front of me. She looked at me with her mouth hanging a little open, and reached out to touch the fur on my arm, eyes glazed and focused at the same time.

"That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen Ryann. I didn't know you could isolate like that. You really weren't kidding when you said that you dismantled that shapeshifter cage were you? I thought you were just flat out lying, no one can do that. But you can, can't you?" She was backing away from me now, eyes a little wild at the thought. I think I awoke her vampire a little more than she wanted. I stayed where I was, I needed her to see I was no threat to her.

"Yes Steph, unfortunately most everything you hear about me is true," I told her in a placating tone. She looked to me again, I was in the exact same position and it seemed to be helping her. She stopped just beside Reynold and sat back down shaking her head a bit, putting her face in her hands.

"Like what happened with Swift?" Reynold asked me, suddenly interested again in me. Great.

"Why out of all the stories you ask about the mob king? It always comes back to him," I murmured more to myself than anyone else. I didn't understand the fascination with him. No one made a move to change the subject, I felt like a teacher at story time, they were all raptly waiting for me to continue.

"I was with Swift was a good two years of my life, during one of the worst times of my life no less," I told them as I continued to strum on the guitar. My fingers were deftly hitting my notes. It was so much easier with my vampire senses to control, it was a wonder I could work it at all with the chip in. I played some of my favorite Zeppelin songs, I knew the words so well I could talk and get distracted, but still play well enough to keep the song going.

"So you really did that to his car?" Reynold asked, I could barely understand him, I wasn't even sure he was opening his mouth all the way.

"Of course I did, I needed him to pay attention to what I was saying, and he only loved two things at that time," I told him. He responded with a confused expression.

"He loved me and that car. I wasn't going to do anything to myself, so it had to be the car. The hardest part was getting someone to agree to do it in the first place. I had to go all the way to Mexico to get it done, no one on the west coast would so much as touch Swifts baby." I could feel the sadistic smile on my face. It really was my finest prank, and I realized that all three of them were laughing. Not just laughing but really cracking up. I didn't get what was so funny about it, maybe they were way more gone than I thought.

"Swift didn't think it was that funny," I told them as I started playing another song, "He destroyed my Ducati!" I told them it with such an indignant tone. I knew I sounded like a child but I loved that bike.

"You rode a bike?" Cy asked, a dangerous look on his face.

"Yes and she was beautiful, custom built just for me," I told him tipping my chin up, if I closed my eyes I could still feel her between my legs.

"Let me guess pink?" Steph asked on a choked laugh.

"Of course it wasn't pink, it was customized to my height. No she was pure black, and a dream to ride," I said, feeling my eyes unfocused and the song I was playing miss a few notes when I thought about her.

"I don't think I would be able to handle seeing that. What about you Reynold?" Cy asked him, a smirk on his face as he whistled.

"Oh I'm not going there Cy, her mother is pissed as hell at me right now. I am going to plead the fifth, though I'm sure that's why Swift got it for you. I heard he paid a pretty penny to have it customized." He was not wrong, but my warning bells were going off a bit. How on earth did they know all this stuff about our relationship?

"Swift bought me many gifts, the Ducati was nice but it wasn't what made me fall in love with him." Well as much as I was capable of at that moment in my life. I always got confused when it came to him, I started to go through some blues songs I was writing, echoing my inner turmoil.

"Ghost? Out of everything he gave you, that was what you liked the best? Swift would shit himself if he knew that old horse was your favorite." Cy asked me. I almost dropped the fucking guitar, no one knew about my horse.

"How the hell do you know about my horse?" I said as I looked right at him, the song ended and the tent descended in tense silence.

"Swift talks about you often, even after all this time he is still very fond of you. I thought he was just being a bravo, but he was right, you would be worth the trouble," Cy said. Of course I would run in to someone who knows Swift, it was a miracle I hadn't already here.

"I didn't know he still felt that way. Sometimes I think it would be nice to see him again, but he brings as many bad memories as he does good. I still think of him from time to time," I admitted, not nearly getting to the heart of things. I picked up my guitar and started to play again, I wanted to keep calm and try to get some more information flowing. It was then I noticed they were exchanging glances back and forth. Nervous glances, which didn't mean good things for me.

"Well that's good seeing as he is coming with his crew tomorrow. You're going to help me train them," Cy told me, and despite my iron stomach, I almost fell off the bench and threw up. Was it possible that every part of my past was going to reappear at the worst possible moment.

"I'm so sorry Cy, you are going to have to repeat that for me. It almost sounded like you said he was coming here, to train, with me." I gave him my thousand yard stare, daring him to repeat it.

"I must say after hearing everything about you, most especially from Swift, I couldn't wait to get back here and see you for myself." I could only focus on the fact that he ignored my question, I was choosing to forget the compliments.

"Can I see your hybrid form?" Steph asked from the table, interrupting Cy's line of thoughts. I almost forgot she was there she was being so quiet. She didn't look surprised at Swifts travel plans, she must have known. Some 'friend' she was, an irrational anger was building in me.

I shifted in all of two seconds, violently and dramatically. I managed not to lose grip of the guitar either, I knew I looked ridiculous still holding it but I couldn't help it. I just reacted to her question, and here I was in all my beastly glory. All three of them were staring again, this time with a range of reactions. I needed to get it under control. I retracted my fangs and Cy leapt from his table to come my way, a look of pure wonder on his face. I backed up until my legs hit the bed, not wanting him to get closer.

"Do that again," he said in a mix of command and a request. I obliged him anyhow, shifting one more time from full to beast. "That's amazing. Do you think you can teach me that?" I didn't know if it was possible to teach something that I considered more of an instinct.

"I can try, but right now you need to get out of my personal space Cy." I was sitting on the bed and he was kneeling in front of me, staring up at me like a shrine. I pushed him back gently and walked to the dresser to get my clothes. I was furry and naked walking through the room, but I couldn't muster up the shame to feel bad about it.

"I'm about at my limit everyone," I told them as I threw a towel around myself "Tonight has been...fun. I'll see you all tomorrow." I left them all, looking like statues, as I went to take another shower.

**Chapter 7**

"Anything?" I asked London and Ari who were sitting facing each other on the sofa, hands gripping each other with a fierce force.

"We couldn't reach her Cole, I didn't sense anything at all," Ari said to me. That meant she was probably smashed tonight, like it was most nights, gods what a mess this whole thing was. It was likely she never would be sober enough to reach her. We weren't getting anywhere and I wasn't sure I could keep putting London through this. She was almost seven and half months pregnant now, and I knew she missed having Ryann here with her. They had spent the better part of their teenage years planning their lives together, they wanted to have babies at the same time, giving them a family from the start. I looked over to my mate and saw she was tired and frustrated, I pulled her to my side and kissed the top of her head to comfort her.

"But you did the other night Ari? Are you sure?" I asked. I needed to know if I was hoping for nothing.

"Oh I was with her, I woke up with sand in my toes and the smell of jasmine everywhere. I can still feel her on my skin, it's the strangest feeling. It was her Cole, but she wasn't doing well. I could just tell she is struggling with something. The Ryann we know is slowly losing her grip, she kept saying she needed to be there and that everything was dark. Then I saw a woman come at me with a knife from down the beach. Do you have any more ideas on what she is talking about, about the woman?" he asked London. It was all most of us could think about, and some of the answers were not pretty.

"I don't think she has joined them if that is what you are asking. Ryann always goes with her gut, so I believe she is just rolling with the options she has. But," I said sighing, "we can't forget what Marcus did to her that night, it would be enough for anyone to consider siding with those that seek to dethrone him." Ari grimaced, and I was sure my face betrayed the same feelings. If she went with them willingly, I had no clue what I was going to do. We would be on two sides that were on a collision course.

"As for the other visitor, London thinks it was a part of the illusion in Ryann's dream. I was there too, but she never brought me in to be part of it, so I'm betting the other lady was imaginary." There was a small part of me that had a very uneasy feeling about that detail of the dream, it just didn't sit well with me. Then again not that much did these days.

I head my front door slam open, with a brooding Dominic and Juke coming through it at an alarming pace. Luca followed in from the rear, looking like he was about to explode.

"Swifts gone," Juke said, interrupting Dom as he was about to speak. I was glad it was him talking, Dom didn't need to rile his beast anymore, I could see fur sticking out from the ends of his dress shirt.

"Okay, you want to fill in some dots here?" I asked, not understanding what he had to do with it. I was tired and I needed them to get down to it.

"Swift and his crew are gone from the human plane. His beta, Carlos, is chipped. They go everywhere together, and he just disappeared from the human plane. He dropped off the council radar, completely. All of them are gone from their Cali base, every last one," Juke said. Holy shit, I could hardly believe it.

"All of them? Does this mean what I think?" London asked them. This could be the break we need, a link to some concrete facts.

"If you think they left to help in the rogue fight, I'm not so sure. I can't see a situation in which Swift would be tempted to join, he likes the position he holds too much to ever leave. He has been there for almost two centuries running his operation, so I don't think I buy it. Something's not right here," Luca said. I had almost forgot they knew each other, and most of their history wasn't so friendly.

"We need to think about every possibility, I'm not saying we need to jump to conclusions, but we need to consider it," I told everyone. It took so much for me to say those words out loud. Everyone looked to their feet, avoiding any kind of eye contact with each other.

"There is only one reason Swift would come aboard and help them out." I said what everyone was thinking, it was what I was good at, honesty.

"She would never do that," Luca said to us. "I know we need to address it, but you all weren't there when I found her. It was one of the worst acts of violence I had ever seen on another shape shifter. Blood in and blood out, they spared no consideration for the fact that she was chipped either. I had to re break her arm because it didn't heal right. She wouldn't make contact like that on her own, she wouldn't reach out and bring him in to help. I think the most likely case, is whoever is running it thought of the connection and sought out an alliance to coerce her," Luca said defiantly. He was shaking his head back and forth, but I knew he didn't totally believe what he was saying, none of us did. When it came to Ryann, I don't think any of us could predict what she would do. I saw red for a minute before I regained control, London was holding her own but I knew this was a possibility that was breaking her to hear.

"I hope to the gods that you are right Luca. I really do, but who else would know to get him on board? Say we disregard who brought him in, they are together again. They are going to be possibly going against Marcus, and with the history he has with Swift, it would be a bloodbath if they sought vengeance on the councils. Between the two of them, they have more motive than anyone I know to kill the lot of them." I looked to each of my friends and saw the same concern echoed in their faces. All but Ari, it seemed whenever Ryann was in question, he was the first one to stick up for her. Interesting human.

"We have to take this information to Marcus, you all know we have no choice. For the safety of everyone, we have to let him know what is going on. Ryann and Marcus, fighting together, could be cataclysmic. If she were here, Ryann would insist upon it too," I told them, continuing with my rant seeing as no one wanted to talk about this.

Each of them looked at each other, no one was willing to break the silence. It was as if we never said anything, time could stop in that minute and nothing bad would happen.

"I'll tell him," Dominic said finally. "He will be less likely to ignore it coming from me," he said, raking his hand through his hair. I nodded my head at him, agreeing, as I pulled in London closer to me. I hoped we were doing the right thing involving Marcus.

"I'm going to go back to California and check to make sure Swift didn't leave anyone behind, it would be incredibly stupid of him to, but maybe we will get lucky and I can find someone to squeeze," Luca said as he rose to leave. I shook his hand goodbye, he would leave tonight, there was no time to waste.

Everyone was shifting to leave, hopefully no one would notice that Ari would be staying here for the week. I wanted London to work with him on trying to reach Ryann more, he had good luck getting through before. I had a feeling it might take a while, but that it would work eventually. She seemed to have good luck bringing him in to help, and they had been making slow but steady progress. For some reason, Ari seemed to be a missing piece in this giant puzzle, which confused the hell out of me.

Once everyone was gone, and in bed, I pulled London to me. I was cuddling behind her, one hand to her ever changing stomach. It seemed to have doubled in size lately. I closed my eyes and kissed her hair, then kissed down her neck. She backed up into my own space, clearly liking the direction I was going in. I felt her stop suddenly, I knew her mind was going a mile a minute thinking about Ryann. I didn't take it personally, I wanted to help her work through this any way I could.

"We can't get to her yet love," I told her in a calm voice. "But we will. You have to have faith we will get a break, and when we do we are all going to bring her home." I was playing with the back ends of her pale hair. I hoped little Banksy got her coloring, it was stunning.

"This is going to end badly Cole, I have dreamt of it," she told me with a shaking voice, absently rubbing her stomach to calm herself.

"It might Lon, and we can only do so much. But we will all be there for her and sometimes that can make all the difference," I told her, the same phrase I had repeated the last couple of months.

"Ari is in every one of my dreams Cole. He will play his part in this, and I am going to ask you to look out for him," she said to me, turning to face me. She had her serious face on, with the pleading big blue eyes, I could never deny her when she gave me those eyes.

"He's helping out Ryann, of course I will look out for him. Look at what he's done for her so far. I could never turn my back on him now, he's family." She looked so sad when I said it, and it made me wonder what she had seen.

"He loves her, I just hope it's enough," she said back to me ominously.

I woke up the next morning, a familiar pattern of my former life. I felt like my brain was melting, this was quite a hangover even for me. I looked around me in the bed and was beyond relieved that I was in it alone. Last night could have been a monumental mistake, I shook my head at my stupidity. If I wasn't careful I was never going to get back home. Home, I let myself linger on the feelings that one word brought to my head.

I panicked and checked my watch to find out all I had time to do was to take a quick shower before heading to the combat classes. Hopefully I could shift enough to burn off the headache.

I ran out, in my towel, and started the shower. I was thinking back to the day before, specifically the night, and the dream I had. It still wasn't sitting right with me. There was something so desperate about it. I didn't remember dreaming last night, but if anyone was trying to reach me, it would have been pointless. I was too tanked to respond to anyone, dream weaving or not.

I stretched as the hot water hit my body, it was almost too hot outside to be taking a hot shower, but I needed to make my muscles as pliable as I could. I realized I was nervous, not for the combat training, but for finally seeing Swift again. My relationship with him was so complicated it made all the others seem mundane in comparison.

I thought back to the first time we met, I felt our connection even in the beginning. The first time I saw him I almost couldn't believe it was the person everyone was always talking about. He was tall and lean, with long light blonde hair and sharp features. He looked like he could be a Scandinavian prince, instead of a mob lord. He held himself with such grace, but it was the cold ice blue that got to me. They were so knowing, so calculating. He was always looking at the big picture. I shivered even now thinking back to that night.

He must have thought I was a lunatic, I came to him ranting and raving, piss drunk and covered in my own blood after yet another attack. He just listened to me, and then asked what my name was.

I knew his history with Marcus and I knew he would know who I was, I could delay it by lying but it would only buy me so much time. I think in the back of my head, I was wishing he would just kill me when he found out I was his daughter, and end everything for good. Instead, he picked me up in his arms and got a good look at me. He took in my scent and a flash of recognition and amazement flared in his eyes. He locked stares with my own, and then turned and took me to his personal quarters. He sat with me in the shower and got me clean, as we waited for the doctor to come in and stitch me up. I needed around fifty stitches on my shoulders and back, and I had my ankle put into a boot because it was so messed up. The jackals that attacked me the night before really did a number on me. I almost didn't survive, and when I woke up the next morning I decided I couldn't sit around and wait for more challenges to come. I needed protection. That's when I went to Swift.

After they patched me up that night, he fed me by his own hand, which in shape shifter terms means he was offering me protection and a place to stay. I knew it meant he was claiming me too, but I took it along with his protection. He dressed me and placed me in a room right next to him. He watched over me from a chair in the room the whole night, he told me later he was worried about one of the females challenging me if he left my side. It was so sweet, it caught me off guard, that it sent me on a path I never thought I would take.

I wouldn't take back what I did those years, it got me through my own head enough to believe it was worth it for me to keep fighting. If it wasn't for Swift, I wouldn't be here. I shook off the water from my fur covered arms and took some deep breaths. I heard a noise and I went to my tip toes to find Steph's head poking out the top of her own shower.

"Morning sunshine!" I yelled at her, knowing it would get to her, and she flinched at my volume.

"Ryann, if you wish to live to see tomorrow you, will whisper anything you wish to say to me this morning," she said with deadly intent. I was laughing at her, this was so much fun.

"Sure thing maggot, you coming to class?" I asked her, realizing I wanted her there with me.

"Nope, got errands to run for Aurielle the next three days, I'm going topside for a while," she told me, with a hint of nervousness in her tone. I didn't like that tone one bit. I needed to find out what had Steph so spooked, she was an iron lady.

"Oh, well you have a good trip Steph. See you later then!" I said, with as much cheerfulness I could muster as I went to change into my clothes.

I pulled on my new pants, perfectly tailored to my height. They were paired with my grey yoga tank that crossed straps in the back, giving me perfect range of motion for today. I had perfect fluid grace in them, and just enough stretch to accommodate my hybrid form. Now if only the pants could stop my hands from shaking, I would be all set.

I walked over to the dining tent and grabbed a quick bagel to scarf down as I made my way towards the stables. I wanted a horse to ride in. It gave me height advantage, and if things went bad, or if I was injured, I could make my way back on my own.

I found DaVinci, we called him Vinnie, and saddled him up. I pulled myself up and stopped for a minute to appreciate him, he was large and grand looking, with a gait that was steady and true. I took the liberty of riding him around the rink for a few laps to warm him up, and then took off at a nice cantor towards the fighting grounds.

The area I was supposed to go to was located off on the side of the main camp. I knew I wasn't late, in fact I was running right on time, but hopefully I would be the last to arrive. I didn't want to be waiting around for Swift to show up, my nerves couldn't handle it.

I saw the fighters tent first, it had to be about as large as the food tent, and it was packed with about fifty people this morning. Most that I saw were men, but there were some women mixed in, maybe about ten in all. They were all warming up their choice of weapons, the armory was located near here, so most stopped off to load up. I should have done the same, but I still wasn't sure what they were going to ask me to do today, or if anyone authorized that for me.

As I got closer, most everyone came out to see me ride in. I was searching for a post to tie him to, eventually finding one on the south side of the tent, and I directed Vinnie towards it. I could feel every eye on me, some were trying to be discreet about it, but most didn't bother to hide it. As I closed in, I saw some that I remembered from my days in California. One I could clearly identify, a tall hispanic man named Carlos, stood almost a head above everyone else. He was Swifts beta, and unless something major happened, he most likely still was. He gave me a small head nod as I passed where he was standing, it was more of a greeting than I had expected from him.

I approached the pole and looked around for a second before dismounting. I grabbed my bag from the saddle compartment, as a horse hand came out with some feed and water. I gave Vinnie a little pat, rubbing his flank and touching my nose to his. He blew out a breath into my face and butted into my forehead with his nose. I hummed some sweet nothings at him, and turned around, finding swift right across from where I was.

He was maybe about twenty yards from where I was standing with Vinnie. I had the sudden urge to run, not into his arms but back the way I came. I could just remount Vin and we could be out of here in a flash. Then I remembered I had survived far worse, I was done with all the fucking hiding.

"Alexander," I said with a soft voice to him, still rooted to my spot. I usually reserved calling him that in private, but I missed calling him that. Not so much the Swift part of his life, but I missed Alexander. I noticed Carlos and two of his best about ten feet from him, I didn't take offense to it. They knew what I could do, even if they had never seen it.

"Ry," he said back with a smile. I loved that smile, it transformed his whole face from night to day. Gods, he looked the same, he had a regal quality to the way he held himself. I decided to hell with it, I could be gone later, tomorrow, next week, in an hour. I was going to go with my gut and my gut was telling me to go to him.


	5. Chapter 8 & 9

**Chapter 8**

I started walking towards him, trying to will my hands to stop shaking. When I got closer, I noticed his guards stepped up until Swift called them off with an annoyed flick of his wrist. I wasn't going to do anything to him, not now. I got within close enough distance and pretending to hold out my hand for him to kiss, but at the last second I grabbed his and pulled him to me. I wrapped my arms around him right as I felt him grip my waist. He laughed softly into my ear, and gripped me tighter. I held him there for a second and then pushed back to look into his face.

"Your hair is longer," I said as I reached up to touch it. He closed his eyes a second, I knew his beast recognized me, so I blew a stream of air his way, like I used to do in private. Swift took a deep breath in, eyes glowing even in the sunlight.

"You cut that shit out right now Ryann, or these men will be getting a different kind of demonstration," he told me in a throaty voice. He sounded more amused than anything, our usual banter returning without effort.

"Easy there Alexander, I was just reminding your beast of mine. For some reason around you, she just kind of takes over." I shrugged, he knew this all before though. I was simply an animal with him, and it explained a lot of our relationship.

"Well, my girlfriend is back there, and if she sees you touch me again I won't be able to hold her back if she challenges you. I kind of like her too," he said smiling, knowing if someone challenged me she was as good as dead. It didn't surprise me he was with someone else, and surprisingly it didn't hurt either. Swift had a way with women, and if anyone needed proof of that, they could look to how he tamed me.

I looked over behind his shoulder to the mass of soldiers that were staring at us, the ones from Swifts crew had their mouths hanging open a little.

"You want to really teach them a lesson Alexander? It's been so long." I taunted him pointing towards the tent. I felt fur sheathing my arm and I released one of my claws to graze his stomach. I tore a wide rip in his shirt. He had to hold his hand up again to his guard as he laughed at what I had done. It rang through the grounds around us, with everyone silently watching us, it was jarring to hear the sound echo in the empty space.

"Oh you are a sight for sore eyes Ry, you really are more beautiful than I even remembered. You were always such a challenge, and I can see that same look in your eyes now. Why couldn't we work it out, we could have had an eternity exploring each other? We could have had millennia and I would never tire of your spirit," he said, his turn to taunt me. I almost groaned at the memory of us together, when I looked up he was shaking his head at me. He noticed my arm and its fur and his eyes went wide.

He grabbed my arm and ran his hand over the spot where my chip was once, the spot I would always run my fingers over when I was upset.

"We couldn't work it out because we are basically the same person Alex, we would have never lasted. We burned each other up, it was a spectacular fire, but it couldn't last like that," I told him, as he picked my arm up to kiss the spot. He knew it too, but he never gave up on it.

"You got permission to take it out, or did you finally do it yourself?" he asked quietly.

"I got permission, from Marcus, though it was a bit forced I got it. I'm free now, but I think we both know how tenuous his word his." His head snapped up when I said my father 's name. It was an unspoken rule that we never mentioned him, I think it allowed him to pretend I wasn't a Stone.

"Then you better take advantage of your new strength. What better challenge than on me?" he said as he ran his hand over my jaw, gripping my hip with the other. I could see him on the verge of shifting. It made me excited to do the same, my wolf wanted to run around with him, playing and fighting like animals.

I could hear Carlos clear his throat, presumably to remind us we had an audience. An audience that included his girlfriend. Neither of us cared, we weren't headed towards the bedroom even if it looked like it. It was an old game we played, a play for dominance that we never got tired of.

I heard a noise behind me and Swift cut in over their words with his own. "Carlos if you interrupt me one more time, I will take it as a challenge to my position and we will have it out. Stand the fuck down, Ryann and I are just playing, aren't we?" Swift said. He was really going for it. Even with the innuendo in his tone it was true, we were just doing what came naturally to us. We were as bad a pups, always had been. I didn't hear anything else so I continued with the threats.

"It's not going to be the same as before Alex, I am so powerful now. My beast is just as powerful as yours is, and probably better. Not to mention my vampire, she can be very formidable all on her own, and you haven't even really met her yet. I wouldn't want to hurt you, your face is so pretty and I don't want Sofia mad at me anymore than she already is," as I said this I ran my knuckles over his cheek. He didn't comment on what I said about his girlfriend, but he didn't contradict my guess either. Sofia had wanted to get her claws in Swift even when I was with him, the girl was determined.

"Oh you might be stronger than before, but you are not as strong as me. How else did I manage to pin you down all those times? Remember when we went camping? I gave you a mile head start and I still tracked you down, remember the feeling when I finally pinned you down, the feeling of you submitting to me. I still wake up sweating when I dream of it," he told me, barely whispering it. I let a shiver run down my arms, if I was honest with myself it wasn't all for show. That really was a memorable trip, I had never given myself to someone like that, up until Ari.

"Oh, I seem to remember that night vaguely," I told him yawning. His eyes flashed bright yellow and his grip on my waist tightened.

"You scent tells me differently. I think half the tent can smell your memory of that weekend rolling off your body." He smirked right as he finished, taking in the scent for himself. My body was a damn traitor, and a good reminder that I needed to work on covering my scents.

"Perhaps that is from my morning activities, I did have to leave him in bed so I could make it here on time." As soon as I said those words, he shifted. This was so fun, he had the same buttons as before.

I shifted too, in my full hybrid form. It was an insane thing to do right off the bat but I couldn't help it, it more instinct than anything else.

I took a step back and held out my arms for him to get a good look. I turned in a circle. It was like a damn peacock move, fluffing my feathers at Swift and demanding he notice me. I just wanted him to see me as I should be, as I really was, not as I was when I was with him. Not that chipped weakling he knew. I wanted him to think I was powerful, beautiful, I was worthy now.

"Gods... is this what you would have looked like then? This is what that chip suppressed?" he asked it as he reached out to touch my face. He sucked in a breath at my fangs. If Sofia really was out there, he was screwed, she was going to castrate him for this little show.

"This is me," I told him softly. He reached over and kissed my forehead lightly.

"How anyone could deny you this form is beyond me. I could never fight you like this. Once I got you underneath me, I would lose all sense. My beast is about two seconds from taking you right here as it is." Well there went my chance to spar a little with him.

"Later?" Gods I hoped so. I really was curious if I could best him. He nodded quickly, dropping the hand that was holding my own.

"Carlos," Swift called out to his beta, his voice thick with emotion. "Go and get Cy. I believe we have some things to discuss."

I was so glad when I saw Gus at the bar that evening. I was starting to get worried he was avoiding me. I really needed to stay here tonight, out of trouble, and Gus would make sure I didn't do anything too stupid. Like try to figure out where Swifts tent was.

"Hey there girl, what can I getcha?" Gus asked me with a smile. It didn't really reach his eyes, but I wasn't one to dig. We all had our problems, we all had bad days.

"The usual," I answered, stretching my hands above my head. It was a good thing I had all those challengers early in my stay here, or I would have gotten my ass handed to me today. I winced when my shoulder protested a bit too much.

"Those boys put you through the ringer today?" he asked me sliding my drink across the bar top. I downed the drink in about two gulps and tapped the rim for another, it was that kind of day.

"Yeah, it was a good start though. Everyone is in good shape, I don't think I have too many that I have to go over basics with. Cy is actually a very good fighter too. He is a bit more defensive than I am, so I think we will be able to really round out the group well," I told him. I looked up to Gus and noticed he didn't look like he was really paying attention. That wasn't like him, it made me cautious.

"Swift's crew doing well?" he asked me. I realized he hadn't even made eye contact with me yet. Something was up, but I didn't know what to do. Should I be pushing for him to spill, or should I be trying to keep my nose out of trouble?

"I think I know about a quarter of his crew from back then. The new ones, well they are some of the best fighters I think he has ever had. They made for the best sparring partners today," I told him honestly. I turned back and realized that Gus wasn't even behind the bar anymore, he had retreated to the back. I looked around, seeing hardly anyone paying attention, I slipped behind the tent to where the bar supplies were kept.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked him when I found him on a crate in the back, head dropped into his hands.

"Aurielle wants me to spy on you, to..." I waved a hand for him to stop, I didn't need him to finish. Well that explained it, and it didn't surprise me in the least she would put him in that position.

"Did you think I would be mad Gus? I expected something to happen, she would notice how much time I spend here. It was inevitable." He looked up and I saw relief on his face. It was then replaced with a panicked frown.

"Just tell her what I say," I shrugged to him.

"You want me to tell her what we talk about?" He asked me, he looked bewildered at the idea.

"You can tell her what you wish Gus. She has proven she will resort to drugging me to get me to talk, so it doesn't matter. If you want to keep some of our talk private, then do that, and if you want to share everything then you can do that too. I won't give her the satisfaction of taking away my choice of who to be friends with. She can ask me herself and I 'll tell her the same thing."

"How can you think like that?" he asked me. And the answer was simple, I was used to Aurielle and Marcu. I started to walk back towards the exit and back to the bartop. I didn't need anyone noticing that I was gone. I took one last look over my shoulder to Gus.

"She wants or needs me alive and on her side. For what, I don't know. But I do know that no matter what I say, Aurielle will do what she wants, so reasoning with her is out of the question. The humans say that one should never negotiate with terrorists, they will never hold up to their end of the bargain no matter what you make them promise." And she was the biggest liar of them all.

I went back to my seat, and waited for Gus to come back out. After about five minutes I saw him at the end of the bar, dragging a keg behind him. He looked at me and I tried to give him a reassuring smile. Our little heart to hearts would have to end, for both of us. I would still talk to him honestly, but I couldn't talk plans or strategy with him. I owed to him to keep him out of trouble as much as I could. It's not like I had a plan to get out of here anyway.

I looked over at Gus again, he was avoiding my eyes. There were times it was easy to ignore Aurielle, to pretend her ridiculous games didn't affect me. Then there were times like tonight, where all my beast wanted to do was challenge her and then rip her throat out. That was if I could, and I wasn't entirely sure that I could best my mother. When it came to strength, there was no question I had the advantage but Aurielle was the master at strategy and had been fighting her enemies for four hundred years. She wouldn't be here, running all this shit, if she was weak.

Combine that with the fact that she never played by the rules and I would have to be very sure of what I was doing if it ever came to that. I raised my hand for a refill, adding in some shots. I needed to wrap it up here and get the hell back to my tent.

I felt someone sit next to me, but I kept my eyes down as I played with the edge of my glass. It could either go either good or bad. I threw back the shot and drained my drink. I recognized the scent, here we go, time for a challenge of a different sort.

**Chapter 9**

"I didn't think you had it in you," Sofia said to me, sparing any polite greetings. When I had glanced at her, I noticed she was trying to keep her face neutral but it wasn't working. Her brown eyes had a hint of yellow in their depths, and her jaw was so tight it was a miracle she didn't crack her teeth with the pressure.

"I should just ignore you but I am feeling generous. What do I have in me?" If she ruined my night I was going to beat her ass, consequences be damned.

"You, here with the Rogues. Fighting against your father, taking on the councils. Practically rutting with my mate in front of a crowd like a filthy whore, but I knew you were like that before, so take your pick," she said to me as she shrugged. I should get up and walk away, but I wanted to play a little with her. If she thought she could play the dominance game with me then I was going to teach her who was boss.

"Well, you know how me and Swift were. I mean you were there that first night, when he took me back to his private quarters. How many years were you hanging all over him by then, hoping for the same thing?" I asked her, her eyes were more yellow than brown now and she was straining to reign it in. This was fun, wrong but fun.

"It only took me two months after you left to get into his bed, into his heart. I wonder how special you could have been if he so easily replaced you?" She looked very pleased with herself for thinking of it.

"Oh that was a good one Sofia," I told her. I could see the uneasy surprise in her eyes.

"Tell me, are you staying in his rooms at the compound?" I asked her casually while taking a sip of my drink. Her face lost a little color and I had my answer. I knew I was the only one to ever share his private quarters with him, and I was betting that she didn't get the same experience by the look on her face.

She rose from her stool to leave, placing her money on the bar top for Gus to pick up. She looked my way, a scathing expression on her face.

"I told Swift this would be a bad idea," she said to me as she leaned in. Her lip was curled in a small snarl. "You are always at the center of destruction. Everything that you touch ends up dead or destoryed somehow. So here is my warning to you, if anything happens to him because of you, I will kill you myself." She straightened her top and ran a hand over her hair. She turned to walk and then turned her head towards me.

"Your hybrid form is disgusting by the way, my sister and I think we have never seen something so unnatural in all our days," she said. Great, her sister was almost as vile as she was.

"It must be upsetting for you then that Swift doesn't share the same feelings. He could barely stop touching me out there, but then again you were watching so you know what I'm talking about." I didn't realize I was standing when I said it to her. We were practically nose to nose. I could smell a little fear weave into her scent. It made my beast take notice, showing fear around someone like me was a bad idea.

"He may like your physical prowess, maybe even your skills in bed, but he thinks you are a time bomb. He told me himself that he was surprised when he heard you were still alive, that you hadn't killed yourself yet. He said he had to watch over you that first night because he was afraid you were going to harm yourself. So while he may want to fuck you, what's on the inside is far too messed up for him to be attracted to." She smiled at me when she saw my face. It shouldn't have gotten to me, I was usually stronger than this, but there was something in me that believed what she was saying. There was a reason why I had gone to Swift that night, perhaps a bigger part of me than I thought was hoping he would just kill me on site. I was starting to lose myself in this place, I was starting to forget a little who I was, and that scared me senseless.

"You know I'm right too Ryann. That's why you don't have anything to say back. Everyone knows Aurielle has you here as her own personal plaything. Some think you are here for tactical reasons, but no one would place themselves in your charge during battle. You can just do your little show and dance, let everyone get a good look at the freak, and let Swift handle the rest. Or just keep drinking yourself stupid every day, either one works for me but you stay away from him," she told me.

I swayed back a little, admittedly hurt by her words and not at all sure why. I put back those shots so fast and now I was having a hard time clearing my head to make a comeback. I shook my head a little, noticing my eyes were wet. I think everything that had happened the last few days was crashing into me all at once. I didn't know what to do with all the feelings running through me, there wasn't enough room for the pain anymore. I realized I had some tears running down my face, and it crossed my mind that I should be trying to hide the weakness but I was too damn exhausted to care. I wiped them from my face, and took a deep breath squaring my shoulders. I would not be brought down by her words, even if they were true, even if they were spot on.

I saw Swift making his way towards me, a horrified expression on his face when he saw me crying. I don't know if he ever saw me cry, even when I left the compound a bloodied broken mess. I remained standing tall, even as he got close to me. I could tell he wasn't sure what to do. I was fighting through the alcohol to find my way out of my own head. I needed to do this on my own. I was fucking stronger than this, if I could cut a man's throat I could get my own head together.

"Ladies, what it going on over here?" he asked us while placing a kiss on Sofia's cheek. "Eddie pulled me from a meeting because there were reports you two were having an...interesting discussion," he said eyeing me speculatively. Well that was a nice way of putting it. When Sofia didn't offer up anything I knew she wasn't supposed to be talking to me. That surprised me. It took some balls to come in here and take me on like that¸especially if Swift told her to stay away. I may not like her words but at least she confronted me instead of going behind my back. Plus it seemed like she really loved him, it might be in a creepy, band groupie kind of love, but she was looking out for him.

"Oh you know us Swift, Sofia and I are old friends. We were just catching up a little. Weren't we?" I asked her arching an eyebrow. She looked confused at why I would be trying to cover for her. Sofia continued her vow of silence, looking like an insolent child, afraid of getting yelled at by daddy.

Swift looked to both of us again and then grabbed my elbow and led me outside the tent. The night air hit my face and I closed my eyes, letting it wash over my head. I took a breath in, wiping my eyes clean and running my hands through my hair. I grabbed my hair tie and pulled it into a bun on my head. The night air blew across the back of my neck and it made me feel so much better.

"Ry, I'm worried about you. I..." I held up my hand for him to stop and grabbed his to squeeze it a second. I looked him right in the eyes.

"Alexander, just leave me be. You can't save me this time. I'm in this now, and I have to make my way through it," I told him as I felt him pull me into a hug. Over his shoulder I saw Sofia watching us from the entrance. I could have made tonight worse in that moment but I would have hated myself for it later.

"She loves you Swift, she risked coming into the bar to warn me off you. She got some guts, I didn't like what she said to me, but that's on me not her," I said as I leaned back to look at his face. He looked a little concerned for me, and I was too. I could feel myself cracking. He reached for me again, but I started backing away. I needed to just get back and go to bed. I shook my head when he took a step in my direction.

"It's okay now Alex, just go back to your meeting, get back to Sofia. Do me a favor though?" I asked him, I could see him nodding at me to continue. "Tell her that while I appreciate her candor, should she need to discuss things with me further, she can do it in the arena. I would be happy to address anything that comes up there."

"There she is," he whispered at me with a small smile. I turned and walked back to my bed and prayed to every god I could remember that there were no other surprises for me tonight.

_I found myself sitting on the same beach as the other night. I should have been too wasted to be dreaming, but here I was sitting with Ari again. I had a pretty bad night but I would go through it again to see him, I would go through worse if he was waiting on the other side. I always felt like I was found when he was near me, like no matter how lost in my head I could get, he would bring me out. _

_I looked over to him and realized that he looked like he was sleeping. He looked so peaceful, and I wondered what that would feel like. The paper he was reading was resting on his chest and lap so I stood up, reaching over to move it. I folded it up and placed it at the side of his chair. I leaned down and ran a hand to move his hair off his forehead. He eyelids fluttered open, and he looked surprised to see me. I didn't know what to make of it._

_"Ryann, what are doing here?" he asked me grabbing my hand as I looked down on him. He was looking around, taking in our surroundings, gods he was so handsome. I closed my eyes as he ran his thumb over my knuckles._

_"This is my dream silly, what are you doing here?" I joked back with him, lowering myself to sit on the side of his chair. I wasn't sure I liked all these questions, I wanted my dream Ari to just be with me. I needed him to be here with me, if only for a while. He looked at me a little puzzled again._

_"If this is your dream, why are you in that tiny bikini?" he asked me with a wolfish grin. I looked down to see a very small black swimsuit was barely covering me. It left little to the imagination. I looked to him and saw he was in his pajama bottoms, they were long and navy blue with little dogs playing on them. He was still shirtless, so maybe this was my dream after all. I was starting to lose track of what was going on. It was like I was watching this all happen from far away but I couldn't quite reach it._

_"Ryann?" he asked me. He must have been trying to talk to me but I didn't hear him._

_"Sorry, I got a little lost there. I'm very lost here Ari," I told him looking around. The sea was churning, it's soapy crests crashing into the rocks off to the side. The sky was a dusty grey, holding the promise of an imminent storm, I didn't need a dream interpreter to tell me what that meant._

_He looked at me with concern. His furrowed brows bothered me, he shouldn't worry about me so much._

_"You look just like Swift did earlier. You can't save me either Ari," I told him with a sigh, noticing his eyes snapping at attention at the mention of Alexander._

_"Swift is there with you?" he asked me looking serious and sitting up. _

_"You have your serious P.I. face on Ari. This is my dream so I need you to be just regular Ari, the one that I was with at your house," I told him, he looked at me with sad eyes. _

_Ari took both of our hands and helped me to stand up with him. He grabbed the towel he was sitting on and spread it out on the sand. He pulled me down, and we laid in the sand together, staring up at the sky. I curled into his side, throwing a leg over his body and burrowing my face in his neck. _

_"I'm so tired Ari," I told him letting out a deep breath._

_"So close your eyes gorgeous," he said. "I've got you now." _

_"I wasn't talking about going to bed Ari, but besides, if I go to sleep I'll miss this." I said sitting up a little to look at him. _

_"You'll miss what?" he asked me playfully coming up on his elbow, a full smirk plastered on his face. _

_"I'll miss me," I told him, like he was an idiot for not understanding. It made perfect sense to me._

_I heard a crack of thunder off in the distance and an echoing flash of lighting. The storm was coming up on us fast. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when the rain reached us, so I settled back in to Ari's side. His arm curled around me protectively, it was amazing how safe I felt in his arms._

_"The storms is coming in gorgeous, what do you want to do when it gets here?" he asked me pulling me tighter against his side as the first of the rain drops began to splash on our bodies._

_I thought about that, it was a good question. I'm sure we were talking about more than the rain but with Ari so close it was hard to focus on the bigger picture. I thought about having to leave this moment, leave the peaceful feeling that was only just beginning to settle in my bones, and I willed the storm back. I heard Ari suck in a small breath, and then I looked up to see that the area directly above us was covered in a transparent shield, like a giant clear umbrella._

_"When you think you are the most lost, when you think you can't do what it takes, you remember this moment Ryann. I want you to remember that I have never believed, not for one second, that you can't do this," he told me pulling me up to straddle him. My hair was falling in sheets around my face, slightly damp from the rain. It was dripping onto his chest, and abs, making his muscles stand out and glisten. He had a perfectly chiseled body, born from his military training and honed with hard work and discipline. I followed the line of water down his body with my fingertip, inching it slowly around his pectoral muscles, and down the sides of his body to the tightly formed v that adorned his lower hips. I licked my lips, feeling wetness pool in the apex of my thighs. He was so raw, so human, so masculine in that moment and it called to me. I realized then that some things called to my beast, some things called to my vampire, and some things just called to me._

_I felt his hands dig into the side of my hips as his hands were stroking and kneading the sensitive skin, making a tingling sensation take over my body. We looked at each other for a moment, and then I reached back to untie the string that was holding my bikini up at the nape of my neck. His eyes widened a fraction as they traveled the path of my top._

_Then I reached back, arching a little, and untied the string that was at my back. I saw Ari's eyes flash a brilliant blue. His hands traveled slowly up each side of my body, skimming the sensitive bones of my ribs. He reached up and cupped each of my breasts as he played with my taut nipples, and in that moment I could feel my fangs extend. I tried to will them back a little, I didn't want to scare him._

_"Don't hide them Ryann, don't hide anything," Ari told me. He put on hand on my mouth, and I bit lightly on the very tip of his finger. I sampled the taste of his blood, it was heady and light at the same time. It was like the finest whisky, with undertones of other flavors. I couldn't wait to take in more. Ari looked at me while I sucked on his finger, his face was alit with wonder and excitement. I almost came just looking at him._

_Deciding he wasn't turned off by my fangs, I let them out the rest of the way and I kissed him. It was deep and slow at first, and then hurried and hungry. I wanted to take this slow but I wasn't sure that was going to be possible._

_I sat back up, looking down at the remaining parts of my bikini, and giving him a smile. His hands started to deftly but slowly untie the strings holding the sides of my swim bottoms. I looked down at his pants, licking my lips at the sizable bulge that he had created in his pants. I closed my eyes for a second and when I opened them he was naked._

_"That is a handy trick," he said to me, his voice was deep and full. He took one look at my eyes, I could feel them change to ruby red, and in the next moment he had flipped me over to my back. It was fast, even for a human. He trailed kisses down my neck and breasts, suckling on each nipple and trailing his way down. When his mouth hit low, I threw my head back and writhed on the towel. Wishing I had more room, I mentally replaced it with a large plush blanket. I could hear Ari laugh at my change, the vibrations from his voice sending ripples of pleasure up my body and down my legs. He continued his attentions, and before too long I found myself coming Ari looked at me, licking his lips._

_"I couldn't put adequately into words what you taste like," he said to me, looking for all the world like a man who could do just that forever._

_I looked up when I felt some rain coming through my little defenses. "Ari, I don't know how long I can hold this off. How long I can hold us here. Let's not waste a second of it, we can play some more another time." My voice held a promise and it satisfied him enough to make his way back up to me. I looked at him, crawling his way up to my face, looking like the cat that got the cream. It wasn't far from the truth._

_"How can I deny that request?" he said to me kissing me again. I groaned when I saw the look in his eyes, it was pure lust, a promise of shared desires. It made my breasts heavy, and I arched against his chest to get some friction. _

_I flipped him onto his back, faster than I'm sure he was ready for but he didn't complain. I raised myself up, taking one last look into his eyes and then slammed my body down on top of him._


	6. Chapter 10 & 11

**Chapter 10**

I was up late again, we had a full house for the night because tomorrow we were all meeting with Marcus to go over all the information we had gathered on the rogues. I was having a hard time sleeping these days, that's the only reason why I found Ari first.

I felt heavy and weighed down, it was enough to be exhausted by the end of the day but it didn't have any effect on my brain. I went from worry to worry, flitting around the house and trying to convince myself that everything would work out. I had too many worries these days.

I was cleaning the stove, at two thirty in the morning, when I saw Ari storm out of the room he was staying in. He had scratches down his chest, and bite marks on both sides of his neck. All of this looked even more unreal because he was soaking wet. It wasn't a fresh shower smell, or a sweat smell, he smelled like fresh fallen rain. He reached up and put his hand to the trickle of blood that was making its descent down his chest. He had a small smile on his face, and then jerked back a few steps when he remembered I was still in the room.

"London!" he exclaimed. We stood frozen, staring a little at each other as I tried to think of what to say. I heard Cole stumble out of bed and it was more instinct than anything. Ari hadn't said one word to me, but somehow I knew those were from Ryann. I waved my hand and healed his scratches and bite marks. I would get the story out of him eventually, but if those were from her, then it was better to leave it out. I liked all the things in my house in one piece.

Ari mouthed a thank you to me and then took a few staggered steps to the kitchen and grabbed the whisky out of the wet bar.

"What the hell Ari?" Cole asked as he flipped on the kitchen light. Ari flinched at the onslaught of light in his eyes, and I looked down to see a puddle of sand and water at his feet. Gods, what the hell happened to them? He poured himself a shot, well it was more of a small drink, and then threw it back. He was trying, I could tell, but his hands were still shaking.

"Ryan came to me London. She dream walked into my own," he said looking a little dazed.

"She what?" came an amazed voice from the other spare room. Juke and Dom were making their way into the main kitchen area as well. I started picking up breakables around the sitting area while they were walking. I had spent a lot of time decorating here, and if this went bad I wanted to save what I could.

"I woke up on that same beach, with her standing over me. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but it was definitely her." I couldn't deny that it was true. We could all smell her, the rain was carrying her scent pretty damn well.

"Well I'll be," Juke said, shaking his head and smiling like he was proud of her. I was so glad Juke was here, he had a way of making impossible situations somehow lighter with his easy humor and unflinching optimism.

"She thought it was her own dream too. She kept ordering me around," Ari said with a smirk. That sounded like Ryann.

"You should have told her where to shove it. She couldn't do anything, she can't manipulate your dream Ari," I told him teasingly. He looked confused.

"She made the rain stop," he said to me cryptically. I didn't understand. "She took…she changed.." he said brokenly. I gaped at Cole when I understood his meaning, grabbing his hand to steady myself. It wasn't possible.

"There was a storm and she put up like a barrier so we wouldn't get wet, she wasn't happy with what we were...sitting on so she changed that too." He looked like he wanted to say more, thankfully his self-preservation instinct was strong and he stopped there.

"Mates can do that with each other," Dom said, his hands were balled in fists and if looks could kill, half of the eastern seaboard would be dead. His jaw was set and he turned away from us.

"True mates, destined, can do that with each other." He said that last part to himself. We all knew what this could mean, and no one wanted to take part in that can of worms. I looked to Ari and didn't see panic on his face, he looked more bewildered. I truly felt bad for him, he was in the middle of such a mess and he understood little of this world.

"Let's move on to information. Did she say anything to you, did you see anything different?" Juke asked as he stepped a little closer to where Dom was standing. People should never underestimate Juke, he missed nothing.

"She said Swift was with her," Ari said confirming our suspicions. "I didn't get any other concrete information, but I can run down everything she said to me. Maybe more of it will make sense to you all." As he said this, he lined up four tall drinks for the guys and went to sit at the table.

Ari took the next fifteen minutes telling us everything about the dream. Well, I knew that he was leaving parts out, but he went into detail about everything Ryann said. How she sounded, what she looked like, the details of where they were.

"Swift wants to save her?" I asked aloud, wondering about what that could mean.

"The way Luca tells it, he and Ryann had an interesting dynamic, I think he really loved her." Juke said carefully. We all knew the history she had with him, we knew that most of the rumors were true.

"I don't care who wants to do the saving, as long as they help her out. She is struggling guys, she told me she was lost. Over and over again she said it. That's not to say she can't pull through this, but whatever is going on over there, it's testing her limits. I could feel it," Ari said with a desperate look on his face. It must have been maddening to be that close to her and not be able to take her back.

"No mystery woman?" Cole asked him.

"None, at some point the rain fell so much she started to look blurry and then I woke up here. I'm sorry about the sheets London, I think the mattress might be ruined too," he said to me with an apologetic look in his eyes.

"It will give me something to do. Maybe you and I can go topside and get a new one tomorrow." I gave him my hard stare, he was coming with me and he was going to spill what he was hiding. I would have pushed him then, but I had a feeling that if it was something that could help us out he would have shared.

"Sounds great. Any news from Luca?" Ari asked Cole, trying to divert the attention from him. Smart little human.

"None yet, but I can give him a call now and tell him to narrow his search. Now that we know we are there, we can focus on finding out where they are. We just need to pin down that location and we are set." I gave Cole's hand a squeeze. I had a bad feeling about all this and I didn't think it was the hormones.

We all got up to head back to bed, it was a big day tomorrow. I only hoped Marcus would hear us out.

I woke up the next morning, stretching my limbs to work out the kinks from the day before. I felt oddly refreshed. The last time I woke up without a hangover was so long ago I almost didn't realize it. I reached over to throw the covers off me, only to notice that I was soaking wet. Oh no, did I pee in bed? That was surely a sign that I drink too much. No, this wasn't right. Every surface of my bed was varying degrees of wet. I moved my legs and felt more wetness and something else that was grating against my skin by my feet. I reached to grab some in my fingers and held them up to the morning light. Was that sand?

Just as I made the connection the dream from the night before came crashing back into me. The memory was so real, so raw that it knocked me back and I landed on my ass on the floor. I covered my mouth with my hand when I remembered what Ari and I shared. Gods, what a dream though. It made me miss him more, it made me miss home more if that was even possible at this point. I shook my head, a surprising blush coloring my cheeks when I thought back to the beach. If I closed my eyes I could still feel him between my legs, I could still feel me riding him, the rain coming down in buckets on us. Not that we paid any mind to it.

_'Gorgeous...'_ I could hear Ari's whispers come back to me and I closed my eyes. I could hear him groaning, pushing into me, taking from me. Me taking from him. Is that what it would be like with him for real? If so, his house was my first stop if I got out of here. If I could manage to get out of this shithole.

I looked back to the bed, puzzling at what to make of the rain water and sand. I hadn't had a dream cross over like that in ages. It was common for those who were of a stronger bloodline for it to happen sometimes. Some people could dream walk or weave, some could have lucid dreams, dreams where the person can direct where the dream goes while in it. I was one of the latter, I can remember being little and waking up with dirt on my feet, or smelling of horses, or being surrounded in candy wrappers. My maids used to rake me over the coals when they found me like that in the morning. This was something much more powerful. This seemed far more real than I remembered my dreams being but there was no possibility of it being real. Besides, Ari couldn't dream walk. He was human.

I took a moment to just lie here in my tent, it felt good not to have to get up and do something first thing in the morning. I had so much more freedom in exile, there was only person I had to answer to.

We didn't have combat classes today, Swift had some meeting to go to in the morning. When I stumbled to the shower, I noticed something sticking from the front of my tent and blowing in the summer breeze. I walked over and snatched it off the flap, walking back to the armchair by the bed to read it.

_Ryann,_

_I apologize for last night, Sofie told me what she said and I don't know what to think of you covering for her. You are even more of a mystery to me now. Reynold and Cy would like me to tell you that you are to report to the stables at noon for riding lessons with some of my men. Carlos and Eddie will be there, check in with them and they will assign you. I will join you there and you will ride with me. I have a surprise for you._

_Alexander_

I shook my head at his tone, he always did like ordering me around. I took a quick shower, almost feeling sad I had to wash off the smell of rain and Ari off my skin. It was far too necessary to even consider leaving it, I didn't want to have to explain why I smelled like a human to any of them.

I took the walk to the stables at a leisurely pace, enjoying the feel of the sun on my face for a minute. I felt considerably more calm today, perhaps more so than I had been my entire time here, and considering the night I had before it was very surprising. That dream must have really done a number on me.

I reached the tent, there were about twenty riders there, enjoying some coffee before heading out. I recognized some faces and realized this must be Swifts men that were here to ride with me. Some gave me a small nod, and I easily picked out Carlos and Eddie lounging in the sun while they talked with each other. I passed by the coffee station and filled a large mug inhaling the familiar scent. It reminded me of London, and just the thought of her gave me a little strength to keep going for now.

I walked up to where they were sitting on a bench just outside the front of the tent, and moved to drag a chair over so I was facing them. There was room on the bench but Carlos and I had history, and some of it was not so rosy.

"Good morning gentlemen," I said to them holding up my breakfast in a mock salute.

"Morning Ryann," Eddie said to me, he was the nicer of the Contreas brothers but not by much. Both men had dark shiny hair, cut in a fifties style and always immaculatly groomed. They had the same dark brown eyes, so rich and framed with long lashes. Their father was hispanic but their mother was Italian, giving them a sensuous and exotic look. It was hard not to admit they made some good looking men. Dark skin, hard jaws, and sharp angles gave them an intimidating presence. They were good at their jobs, and I suspected they really enjoyed it too.

Carlos looked to me with a cool but hostile expression on his face. He was never my biggest fan, and after what I did to his friend, he pretty much wanted me dead. As long as Swift was alive though, he would never touch me.

"Alex sent me here, to check in with you. You want to fill me in on what he wants from me?" I asked them casually, but I held Carlos's stare. I needed to send a message that the tough guy bit wouldn't work on me.

"Swift," he said with emphasis, "wants me to have you run through some basic riding drills with the men. Most have ridden casually but they need to be able to cantor and turn at fast speeds while maintaining control. He will be here himself in about ten minutes. He is bringing something, and he instructed me to make you wait for him." He looked so happy to have to be conversing with me, it was actually causing him physical pain. He hated when I called him Alex, so naturally I continued doing it around him.

"I want to set some things up, Alexander can find me out in the field," I said to them as I stood and finished my coffee. "I'm going to take Vinnie out and check out the ring, and set up some barrels for some turning drills. I'll be back in fifteen, have the riders dressed and mounted by then." I didn't turn around to hear what they said, but it sounded a whole lot like bitch. It didn't bother me on bit, they deserved to not like me after what happened. I walked over to where Vinnie was waiting for me, I patted his flank and then pulled myself on top of him. I gave him a small nudge and we flew off towards the training field.

After checking and setting up the field, I put Vinnie in the enclosed paddock to eat. He was a little slow on the draw today, almost like he was tired. Considering his age, it wasn't unexpected, but it made me worry enough about him to leave him there to rest. I walked back towards the tent, and took off the button up shirt I was wearing earlier. It was so hot out here today, especially with the sun shining bright like it was at the moment. I had on my riding pants and boots, and a dark green tank top. I pulled my hair out of my face and braided it down one side and over my right shoulder. I was going to be fighting back the flies and the mosquitoes, but at least I would be cool. Once I sighted the men, all either mounted or about to mount their horses, I grabbed a water bottle and drained it dry. I looked around and saw something flash in the corner of my eyes. I whipped my head back to the sight of him, putting my hand over my mouth to choke back a gasp. He was such a stark contrast to the landscape, there was no way to miss him.

**Chapter 11**

Ghost. I fought back tears, I didn't think I would ever see him again. I saw Swift standing off to the side, near his second and Eddie as they got up on their horses. Reynold and Cy were there as well, getting ready to ride themselves. That was interesting, I didn't know they were going to be coming too.

Swift was smiling at me, extending his hand out to the horse like a Vegas showgirl. I laughed and then sighed when I took a closer look at Ghost. He was a behemoth of an animal, tall and muscular at almost twenty two hands tall. He was decorated with white and light grey coloring, but his mane and tail were a shocking bright white. He always stood out, like sun lit cloud in a dark sky. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him back then. He looked older, but no less majestic.

I ran over to him trying to keep some composure, but failing not to look like an excited child as I stopped about five feet short of where he was. I wanted to give him a moment to catch up. Ghost caught my scent and I could feel him recognize me, I could see him look right at me. He pranced his front legs a little, and edged his way to me nudging his head with my own. I ran a hand down his face, in-between his eyes and down his nose. I held my hand flat and he sniffed and licked my hand.

"I missed you too buddy." I said, inhaling the scent of him. "You want to show off a little G? I bet everyone takes it easy on you, but not me. I would never let you get away with it because I know what you're capable of." I threw a look at Swift, he looked at me with such tenderness. I gave him a devilish smile with a wink. I held up my hand, signaling for him to wait for me. I looked over to where the hand was bringing over the saddle and waved him off.

I grabbed Ghosts mane, and he instinctively leaned to the side, allowing me a little help in getting on his back. I swung around in a practiced motion, and as soon as I clicked my teeth he was off like a shot. I leaned in, allowing his natural rhythm to guide my body. The trick to riding bareback was not to fight the feeling, but to just let the awkward bouncing to become part of you. It might feel wrong at first but if you let it, the experience can be incredible. I had two handfuls of his mane, grabbing it close to the root with a firm but relaxed. We went around the barrels, turning left and right as I sighted them. I knew with his coloring, the men would be able to easily see how I was handling the turns. When we finished the circuit I did it again at a faster pace, and then slowed it down to do so slowly that they could see the details. I stopped for Ghost to get some water, and then we made our way back to the guys. Every muscle in my lower half was sore, and so I chanted some of my aches away as we approached Swift. Ah magic, it sure came in handy sometimes.

"I didn't think he had that in him, you were taking him faster than most of the young ones around here," Swift said as I guided Ghost to stop next to him. My horse turned his nose in the air, raising himself up to display just how fit he was. I whispered some praise to him and felt his energy lift at my words. Gods, what an animal.

"Never underestimate a horse, especially not mine," I said to him, as I rubbed each side of Ghosts neck. I saw Carlos roll his eyes, it was good to know I could annoy him just by being me.

"I'm going to get him saddled up, and I'll meet you all out there." I told them, pointing towards where I was riding.

We spent the next several hours going over the drills I had set up, and I was surprised at how well everyone was riding. I would ride with Ghost in and out of their formations, correcting form and giving tips on balance. Getting comfortable and confident on a horse was the secret to accomplishing most anything while riding. Thank the gods Swifts crew were shape shifters. Replace their numbers with vampires, and this little session would have been a nightmare. Swift, apparently appeased with the progress, called it a day.

After we cleaned everything up and got the horses back to the hands, and back to their stables, I started walking back towards my tent. I was exhausted, both from last night and from all the riding today.

"Ryann," Reynold called out to me as he jogged to catch up. I saw Cy and Swift coming up right behind him. I dropped my head down in defeat. Damn, I really wanted to get back and take a shower while I was still in one piece.

"That was actually really great," Reynold said to me as he caught up to where I was standing, a surprised look on his face.

"Don't overdo on the compliments Reynold, surely Aurielle has instructed you that a lady requires certain reassurances," I said with a playful smile. He managed to look a little embarrassed at how it came out.

"No really, your riding has gotten better," Swift told me. "I don't remember you riding him so well, even then."

"No chip, remember?" I said pointing to my arm, a proud smile I couldn't tone down or hide was adorning my face. "My instincts are better now, and that directly relates to riding. I can feel him better beneath me, I can sense his cues much earlier. My whole body is alive when I ride. I am riding better than I ever have." I said, not realizing how he was going to take it when I laid it all out there like that. He looked like it was taking a huge effort to suppress some laughter.

When I saw the comment coming I raised a hand for him to stop. "Don't even say it Alexander," I told him shaking my head.

"Say what?" he said wryly back to me. He was such an imp sometimes.

Reynold and Cy looked like a pair of tennis spectators turning their heads to each of us as we bantered back and forth. I thankfully saw Sofia coming up and took a few steps back from the group. We all watched as she walked over to Swift, her shape shifter grace allowing her to seemingly prowl the entire way to where we were standing. She leaned in and gave him an over the top kiss on his mouth. In the sober light of day, she looked a bit more vicious than last night.

"Sofie, I told you I would be back before the dinner celebrations tonight," he told her softly. There was more behind his tone though, exasperation. She was always very high maintence.

_Wait, what dinner celebrations?_ Why was I always the last to know about these things?

"Aurielle wanted me to come and remind you all, that you are to be dressed and ready for dinner by six," she said turning towards the three men. "She stressed this a few times at tea this afternoon." She directed most of that to only me. Oh, so we are having tea with my mother now. Did she want to be her daughter, if so where do I sign?

I suddenly felt a little less proud of myself for not beating the shit out of her last night. Maybe she did deserve it.

"What do we owe the pleasure to, Sofia?" I asked her, my voice dripping with acid. She looked very happy at my reaction. Damn it all, I should have stayed quiet.

"She told me she wishes to welcome us here to the camp in the proper way," Sofia explained with a smug smile on her face as she put her arms around Swifts midsection. There was more going on behind her eyes, but I could only concentrate on the here and now. I knew Aurielle well enough to know she had more up her sleeve than dinner.

"Well then, I should be heading back to prepare myself," I told her sarcastically rolling my eyes. I needed to get a good distance away from her and Swift, or my breakfast was going to make a reappearance. Just as I was about to turn away I heard Sofia clear her throat.

"Oh, well about that," she started saying, playing innocently with the tip of her long brown hair. It was so perfect it looked fake. "Aurielle said you were to stay away unless she could count on your good behavior. She said you would know her policy on misbehaving at her events, and if you choose to air on the side of caution, she has had a new cage built for you near the armory. It will be ready for you."

It looked like she greatly enjoyed saying that to me. I had to close my eyes and take a breath before speaking anything out of hate. I could feel my teeth aching, and my skin itching but I willed it back. I clenched my hands into fists, I would not give her the satisfaction of seeing them shake at my memories.

I opened my eyes to look at the guys, noticing a thin layer of red that was coating my vision. They all looked surprisingly ashamed with what Sofia had just said. They wouldn't even look at me, considering I shared the other night how being locked up as a child felt like, they knew how hard the subject was for me. I knew I had earned some of Reynolds respect, and I knew I had Swifts. I didn't know Cy enough to judge but he didn't look to happy with Aurielle's suggestions either. No magical being like the idea of being restrained like that.

I felt my hands shake some, either from rage or from fear. I should be doing more meditation out here. Do I give them the reaction they are looking for, or do I send another message? There are more than one way to ruin a dinner. I replaced my scowl with a blindingly psychotic smile. I held my frame tall as I took a step closer to where she was standing. Her eyes widened a fraction as I invaded her personal space.

"What a lovely suggestion Sofia, you can tell my mother I will take the cage. I am feeling a bit hungry today, and Swift knows better than anyone I love the immortal blood. Him, as well as his crew, are quite the specimens. I would rather be...cautious around everyone. As you should be around me from now on," I hissed out at her. She tried to hide it, but I could smell her fear.

Swift took a protective step towards her as he got into a semi fighting stance and it shocked me a little. He was going to be willing to defend her to me, after everything she has said to me? Of course he would, she was his now. His attempt somehow reeked of a betrayal, even though logically I knew he should be loyal to her and not me anymore.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't his to protect anymore. I think it made him very unsure as to where to go with me, and the indecision on his face proved it. We had held a firm and set relationship then, he protected me and I let him. It put me in a vulnerable position and when I decided I couldn't take our dynamic anymore it was hard for him. If I guessed right, it was still hard for him. But even with all of that, he should know me well enough not to think I would harm her in front of him. It hurt at the thought that we had spent so much time together, and yet we knew so little of each other.

The thought must have registered on my face because he made a quick move back and shoved his hands in his pockets. Sofia looked like she was just awarded a prize. I looked back to the Swift, expecting him to say something but he just continued to look at this feet.

I had to remember that this Swift wasn't the same as before. We didn't have the same relationship and now I knew we never could. He wanted a passive mate, someone to protect and I would never allow that. We could share and reminisce from our years together, but that is all we would ever be. Two people who shared the same road and were now firmly on differently ones. It was a closed chapter now, I was accumulating so many of them lately.

I rolled my eyes when no one made a move. Sofia was smiling serenely at me. I needed to get out of here before I killed them all.

"I expected more from you Alex, you would have never let anyone talk like that to me. You can tell Aurielle I will be in there promptly at six," I told their stunned faces as I walked away, flashing two middle fingers in my wake.

I went back to my tent, and when I say I went back I mean stormed back to my tent. I was fuming, hair flying dramatically back from my head, all that was missing was the steam coming from my nose and I could resemble a pissed off bull. I managed to keep it together enough to charge into the food hall, grab a tray full of food, and stalk up to the bar top in search of Gus.

"I need one bottle of Jack, no two," I told him as I slapped a fifty on the bar, surprising him and causing Gus to stagger back a few steps. He must not have noticed me while he was packing away some beers for the evening rush.

He waited for a greeting or an explanation, but sensing he wasn't getting one her retreated to grab the Jack.

"Do I want to know?" he asked me fighting a small smirk while handing over the bottles to me. He almost looked reluctant to hand them over, finally letting it go into my hand. I should have noticed his hesitation more.

I didn't answer him, I didn't ask for a glass, I didn't ask for ice. I just snatched the bottle in one hand, put the other under my arm, balancing my tray in the other and left for my room. I'm sure Sofia would be circulating my story before long, and everyone would know where I was headed tonight. What the hell I was going to do once I got there was beyond me.

I scarfed down my food, and downed half the bottle while I paced my room thinking about what I was going to do tonight. I had many options, but as it was with Aurielle, I was trying to find the one plan that would please her the least. Even if I chose to defy her, it was like she was still controlling me. I was going to have to go with my gut and take it from there, not much of a plan but it was all I had.

I heard someone clear their voice outside the tent, smelling one of my mother's hand servants, and I ignored them completely. I was beyond caring at that point.

I took a shower, noticing I had about fifteen minutes until I should leave to head towards the armory. I didn't care what I did once I got there, I told Sofia to tell my mother I would show up and I would, even if I had to drag myself bleeding.

I looked over my clothes and thought the level of drama for the day dictated that I just had to wear an evening dress. Not one of the ball gowns, but one that made it clear I was dressing for the occasion. I felt a small smile hit my face when I put it on and faced the mirror. It was dark blue, almost black, and strapless with geometrical pleats at the bust line. It reminded me of the empire state building I visited when I stayed at the women's shelter in Manhattan.

It flared out around my hips in an exaggerated fashion and creating a small train at the base in the back. The pleats around my hips were giving me curves where there were none. The bust pushed my breasts up in an equally shocking fashion. It was sexy in the extreme and perfect for a night alone in a cage. I hoped I knew what I was doing.

I put on some heels they were closed toed and slightly pointed. They were a provocative nude number that wrapped around my ankle in a thin strap. I stood up tall, fixing my posture to one that held no shame, no embarrassment. If my mother thought she could make me feel as such, she would have to try harder. I felt my hands sweat at the thought of being locked away again, the remnants of past anxieties rearing their ugly heads at me. I had to get it under control. I closed my eyes, seeking solace in familiar comforts.

I pictured home, London, probably getting bigger by the day and doting on Cole. I saw Dom and Juke laughing and sharing an amusing story about the upcoming class at the Academy. I saw Luca, big and tall and brooding, needling the other guys about something. I smiled at the thought of all of them together. I thought of Ari, so strong and sure for being the weakest of all of us. Maybe that meant he was the strongest. As if he could sense me he turned and gave me a brilliant smile, holding out his hand to me to join. I opened my eyes, disappointed that I found myself somewhere else and not within his reach.

I reached up and brought my hair together in a small bun at the nape of my neck. I used a spell London had taught me when we were twelve to put on some light makeup. I wasn't very good at it but luckily I didn't need much with my features. I chugged the last of the Jack, feeling like I would need all the liquid courage I could manage tonight.

I stood from my chair, smoothing out my dress and checking my mirror one last time to make sure I looked perfect. I reached the front of the tent, took one last breath and entered the hot evening air.


	7. Chapter 12 & 13

**Chapter 12**

I head movement to my left side, and I turned my head to see who it was.

"I heard you needed an escort to dinner milady," Cy said to me, holding out his arm. I was pleased at the look on his face as he saw me. His hungry eyes roamed my cleavage, almost making me blush. If it were possible for me to do that anymore.

He was in an immaculate looking dark grey suit. His crisp with shirt and grey tie added to the sophisticated allure. He was so handsome in it. I arched an eyebrow at him.

"I am not going to dinner Cy. But I do have a date with a certain...apparatus," I told him gesturing in the direction of the armory.

"Yes, and I heard you didn't have an escort," he said to me like I was a moron. "A woman who looks like you out here all alone, could be subject to acts of violence." We both knew who would be doing the violating and it made me giggle, which I did not do. Jack was guiding me now.

I drank too much to be that snappy with my comebacks so I went for the safer option and placed my hand in the crook of his elbow. I was a lady after all.

We walked in companionable silence for a while. When he made a move to go around the dining tent I steered his elbow along the path of the open end. I wasn't going to skulk around. If this is what my mother wanted this was what I was going to shove down her throat. To his credit, Cy didn't miss a beat in leading me towards the opening of the hall. If I saw it right, I might have even seen a smile on his face. I was thankful for the silence, I was using up all my concentration as it was.

I noticed some people were gathering around the opening to the tent, they were sharing fancy drinks and chatting like this was the fucking country club. I spotted Swift and Sofia, standing off to the side talking to Carlos and Eddie. They had two blonde women hanging off them, they looked like sisters. I didn't recognize anyone else. I was hoping for Aurielle to see me, but she was nowhere to be found. She always timed her entrances though, she had to be the center of attention.

I felt Swifts gaze on me, eyes raking over my body. He looked like he could devour me on the spot. I noticed Sofia, dressed in a black mini dress, with a sweeping low back, stepped into his line of sight. She placed his hand around her waist as she reached up and whispered something in his ear. It wasn't surprising or hurtful, and that spoke wonders for where I stood with him.

Carlos did his best to ignore me, but he looked at me at the last second. Hid gaze held a short look of pride in his eyes. Swifts gang in particular held strength as the most important aspect of a person, as most shifters did. Perhaps I had gained some ground with them. I saw Eddie was too wrapped up in his date to notice me, but I felt everyone's stares as I turned and walked away. I would be a lesser woman if I didn't admit I used every bit of my ass to sway behind me.

"Aurielle will be glad to know I was so properly escorted to my cage tonight," I told Cy. I'm sure Aurielle sought to maximize my humiliation by having someone deliver me here.

"Oh she didn't agree to this. I truthfully didn't plan on doing this until the last second," he said to my shocked expression. He voluntarily decided to do this? I wasn't sure where to go from there, so I decided to let him set the pace.

"My parents were devout buddists," he told me. "When I was left as a child on the steps of their market, they thought I was a gift from the Buddha. A chance to raise me was considered a blessing. When I came of age..." he trailed off, coughing a little to cover the hesitation in his voice. That explained this then. I squeezed his elbow a little, encouraging him hopefully without making him uncomfortable.

"When they discovered I was different, when I realized I was a vampire, they took it as demonic possession. I won't go into details, but they constructed something similar for me. I was chained to the floor too," he said, a small tremor progressing through his body. I could feel it in my hand. I didn't want him to share any more, I more than anyone knew what it was like to go back to those dark places.

"Well, I doubt your cage is going to be as nice as what my mother has created for me," I told him teasingly. I wanted him to feel my gratitude for helping me with this. I could like this Cy. I had a feeling I that was going to be a common theme for me here. Weren't all the bad guys supposed to fit one mold? Apparently no one here got that memo.

We walked for a little while longer and when I saw the first guard come around the back of the armory to look at us, I turned to speak to Cy.

"Thanks for walking me here, I'm going to head on in. I'm sure I will catch you on Wednesday during combat." I was assuming most would be too hung-over tomorrow to train. I looked at Cy and stopped him before he got his protest out.

"You don't need to go back there, you survived. Now just let me be," I told him, shooing him away. He stood still, waging a battle in his head about what he should do.

"You don't want to go back there Cy, trust me," I said to him over my shoulder. I wanted to do this on my own anyhow. I gave him a reassuring wave and then kept walking. What he decided to do from here was up to him.

I rounded the corner of the armory tent, passing by several stunned guards as I made my way towards the monstrosity the occupied the corner of the grass across from the tent. It had to be a good twelve feet tall and twelve feet wide, with closely interlocking bars of the same metal. I quelled the feeling of panic in my blood, I could get through this if I kept reminding myself I wasn't a that same scared child, waiting for release in her parents basement.

I approached the guard at the front. I didn't say anything to him, and he didn't say anything to me, he just opened the door to the cage and ushered me in. There was a small card table and one chair, all made of plastic and sitting in the corner. I walked over and sat down on the chair. The guard walked over and attached the restraints to my wrists. I was guessing by the way in which he was yanking on the chain, pulling it as tight as physically possible, he didn't feel too bad about putting me here.

I was a little surprised when he reached down to place the ankle straps on me. I noticed some of the other guards, about six of them in all, were paying close attention to what I was going to do. They were right to choose this moment to pay attention, there was something so debilitating about having your legs immobilized and it was at the moment that many a person's beast took over.

I daintily lifted up the hem of my dress, smiling at the guard as he took in my shoes and legs. I refused to take off these heels, they went with the outfit after all. He tried not to touch my skin too much, but it was an inevitability in this case. He pulled on the leg restraints, making sure everything was in place before leaving the cage.

"Aurielle will have dinner served to you in here." It was all he said to me as he let the door close with a loud clang. It was a ridiculous question but I wanted to ask him how the fuck he thought I could eat when I couldn't move my hands more than a few inches. I sat back in the seat and spent the next ten minutes trying to get comfortable. Perhaps I should have rethought my brilliant idea to wear this dress.

About an hour later, a server came up to the guard with a nervous expression on his face. I had tracked him, spotting him in the fading sunlight hurrying with practice efficiency in our direction. He was dressed in a fine serving uniform, one that he clearly kept in pristine condition. It was evident he took pride in his job, even if he had to trek it all the way out here to serve it to me.

His left hand held an ornate tray, with a decorated silver dome to cover the food. I could see a small bottle of champagne, and one flute laid on its side to keep it from falling over and breaking. It was a surreal sight. If someone were to come on the scene now I had no clue what they would think. It all looked beyond ridiculous.

The guard took my tray of food, and snapped at the waiter to scram. It wasn't a request and he took it as such, retreating at a hurried pace towards another side table off to the side where some of the other guards were sitting at a picnic table. He must have been instructed to wait and return the tray. Can't have me running off with her silver, can we?

I caught a whiff of what was in under the dome, and it smelled heavenly. I was suddenly ravenous, I couldn't wait to at least enjoy a little of what Aurielle had planned for me tonight. I sat up a little straighter in my chair, demurely folding my hands in my lap. When I didn't hear the gate open, I looked to my guard wondering what he was doing. He took the tray over to his little table where the other main guard stood.

"Is that steak I smell?" the second one asked the first.

"Aye Pat, it sure is," he said with a thick Irish accent, sneaking a peak under the silver covering. A waft of steam escaped, bringing with it the smells of potatoes and vegetables that carried through the evening air.

"You know, I think our little prisoner wouldn't know what to do with such fine food. I don't think Aurielle would want to waste such a good meal on a savage, even if she is dressed so...beautifully," the first said not even bothering to look in my direction.

I couldn't tell if he was just an idiot or if he was supposed to be baiting me. This was the game I had to play with my mother, always searching for her main motive and doing my best to stop it from happening.

Either way I was losing out on my steak so I decided the best thing to do would be to ignore him. I settled into my chair, anticipating a long night when I heard Pat talk to the first guard

"Oh Dunbar, I think I have an even better idea. One that Aurielle would approve of I'm sure. I think since the lady cannot use her arms much, it would be much more gentlemanly to...assist her with her meal," he said looking at me with a leer. Alarm bells were going off in my head. They wanted to enter this cage with me, with the goal to humiliate me further, and I could only imagine what that would entail for these two. And here I was, chained to the floor like a wounded bird.

If I was right, and Aurielle wanted to bait me into attacking someone, then I would have to let these two morons do what they wanted. To a point. I was so hoping that server was watching this, I was going to need a witness if things went bad.

"Why Pat, what an excellent suggestion," Dunbar said rising with the tray in his hand. He looked far too excited about this prospect. I had a feeling that this little stunt was a mistake, and letting these two feed me dinner would be the cherry on the sundae. I didn't want to have to assault them, and I wasn't sure I could take them with the restraints on in any case.

An idea came into my head, it was one so risky and stupid it was my only choice of escaping this in one piece. I took a deep breath in, trying to remember the exact spell. It had been almost ten years since I had used it and if I got it right I would be defenseless for a while. Timing was everything, and I wasn't looking forward to letting Pat and Dunbar get away with feeding me, but it had to be done. I needed the most of the rest of the guard gone first and appearing harmless would be my ticket.

I heard the cage door open, tweedle dee and tweedle dum looking like little kids on Christmas eve. It was a disturbing look on two big and brawny men. The pulled in two chairs to sit on either side of me with Pat to my right and Dunbar to my left. Dunbar placed the tray in front of him first, and lifted the lid. The meal was perfectly presented on a fine bone china plate with a gold charger underneath it. I saw him reach around to grab the steak knife and fork and begin to methodically cut the entire steak up. I heard Pat lick his lips in anticipation. Gods, if I could turn time faster I would do it. This was going to be torture.

"Open up that bottle and pour our little princess her drink," Dunbar told Pat, and I could hear him beginning to rip the top off the champagne. It popped with a delicate noise as he poured the contents into the flute that was on the side of the tray.

"I'll let you have the desert and the bubbly," he said to Pat. "But I get the steak," he said with conviction. Kill me now.

"Don't look so disappointed princess," Pat said to me gently patting my leg a little too long. "You get to eat your meal now, so I think you should show us a little appreciation." I sent a small growl in return.

"Now eat your meal like a good girl, and I can report to Aurielle what a model captive you have been. Maybe next time you can sit at the adult table," Dunbar said running a hand down the side of my face. When his hand dropped a touch, no doubt aiming for my cleavage, I snapped out and bit down on his hand. It was more of a gentle warning than an attack, I didn't draw much blood, only a drop or two. It would be all I needed.

"Now now," he said jerking my head back by my hair. I could feel him rip out the pins I had holding my bun together. I felt my hair let loose and fall in waves down my back and the sides of my face. He grabbed my chin hard with the other hand and tilted my face to his. He gave me a scathing look and I spit in his face.

He whirled and backhanded me right across the cheekbone and I could feel it split open a little. I sent a pulse of power up to heal it, but the metal combination of the restraints was preventing my healing. It was just like the cage at home then.

I panicked a little, if it could block that it might be able to block my spells. The one at home couldn't all the time, and I was stronger now. I would just have to stick to the plan and hope the gods would favor me tonight.

"I don't want to have to do that again lass, but I will. Now open up for me," he said in an attempt at tenderness. He was fighting an erection, so that whole nice guy bit wasn't exactly going to work now. I tried to focus on the food, ignoring the men.

I spent the next hour, praying for someone to come and shoot me. It was beyond torture, it was beyond humiliation. I even had the pleasure of some dinner guests stopping by to see me in action. That's when I knew Aurielle had wanted this from the beginning. She must have told these two to do this to me.

My mother made an appearance of her own, followed by all the usual suspects. I was surprised when I saw Swift and Sofia, who could not be more happy than at that very moment if her face was any indication. I thought he would have more sense than to come here but the hard set of his jaw indicated it wasn't his idea.

I sat up as straight as I could, I wouldn't cower in the cage like a scolded dog. When I held Swifts eyes, I saw pain in his depths. Pain for what, I knew not but when Sofia went to speak he grabbed her arm hard and dragged her back to where they were eating. I was glad he stopped her but the moment he walked away I truly mourned him. I had to admit a small part of me was waiting for him to demand my release, to demand these two stop feeding me like an invalid. To do something. If he could allow that to happen to me, then he was with Aurielle too tightly to count on. I would have to cross him off my ally list. Sadly the list was now empty.

Cy was noticeably absent, and I felt a small victory was emerging through this whole thing. At least he would be spared the memories of what was done to him. I noticed Reynold was staring at me, inspecting me. I couldn't read his expression which was a first for me. He was so unpredictable. He looked at my restraints, noticing they were intact, and then pulled Aurielle back towards the dinner tent. I closed my eyes for a minute enjoying the semi privacy again before Pat had held up the flute for me to drink.

Both of those guys took turns feeding me every last crumb that was on that plate. They took their time and when the plate was clean it was clear they didn't want to leave. If they came up with another reason to stay in here I would have to kill them. I couldn't take anymore. Then I heard a voice harshly clear behind them. It was the waiter from before. He had a strange air about him now, it was almost menacing.

"The mistress wishes to have the tray back," he told them while holding out his hand. When they didn't say anything he continued sounding impatient. "Make sure to grab the bottle and glass, as well as the silverware. Aurielle just told me to make it quick, they will be moving on to drinks after this and she didn't want to forget to have those taken away." he said. It was clear in his voice he was lying.

dClearly thing one and thing two didn't notice, because they got the whole tray together and got up to hand everything to the server. He snatched the tray and its contents from the men, staring at them. It was unexpected and it made Pat so confused that he grabbed Dunbar's arm and they left the cage, slamming the door behind them. I wanted to kiss that waiter at the moment, thankfully for everyone he was already making his way back to the main tent.

I let out a huge breath that I didn't know I was holding until that moment. Ari was right, I was stronger than I thought. I closed my eyes, sampling the air, and listening to count the guard that was remaining. With the proof that I was not as much of a threat as they thought, I could tell most of the backup had retreated. That left the two main guards, Pat and Dunbar, and three other guards that were playing cards in the armory tent. Here we go.

**Chapter 13**

I closed my eyes, letting the connection to Dunbar settle in. I didn't push it too much, but I let my mind open to the part of his slowly in case he wasn't as dumb as he looked. I could only manage getting a little of his blood, and even though I was confident in my abilities, I wasn't sure this was going to work. It took a deep breath in, keeping the bond up and focused in on the first of my prey.

I worked on the men playing cards, they were so absorbed in their game they didn't pay much attention to me, luckily it was early in their game. I had debated putting them to sleep but decided that the level of magic required might be too much for me to handle. That and I would have to be alert enough to spot when they woke, so I could alter their memories. Illusion was much easier than memory tampering.

I set about a light glamour on the area directly in front of where they were, it put a light sheen over the space where they would look out to check on us and making it an exact copy of things as they were now. I then layered several more, in case the first one failed or if they others were to walk in our direction. I was reasonably confident it would hold for the next hour maybe two if things went south.

I let the glamour set for about ten minutes before I started working on Dunbar. When it was clear the other men were not going to get up, I opened up my connection ever so slightly to my guard. He wasn't a good mental defender, and I could tell he was never taught to recognize the signs of mind entry. I needed to find my mark, or I was going to get lost in the jumbled thoughts that were running around in his head. In my opinion mind control was the hardest to attain, it took a strong mental power on one's own to be able to do it. Thanks the gods for Cole and his training. I smiled when I thought of how proud he was going to be of me. If I ever got to tell him this story.

I found the part of his brain I was looking for, it was so easy getting in I almost laughed out loud. Aurielle should be ashamed she never taught her guards these tricks. She will have no choice after this. I grabbed a hold of the section I needed, it felt like reaching for a string in the dark.

Once I pulled on it a little, I combined it with my own thoughts, whispering my incantations with silent lips. I felt a surge of power, like my mind was being pulled outside my body and I realized I was in. I could feel our minds thinking as one and I was instantly thankful we were both sitting. I felt a strange vertigo at being able to sense both bodies, almost like a spider looking at the world through kaleidoscope eyes.

I had never completed the spell before, outside of using it on Juke to make him kiss a police officer outside a pub one night. This was far more complicated and I realized I was sweating with exertion.

"Hey Pat, you can get going now," I had Dunbar tell his partner shrugging my shoulder towards the road back. I could sense his memory of an earlier conversation. It made what I was going to do much easier than having him knock his partner out cold. Only one of them was going to be staying past Aurielle's visit as long as everything went well. I was trying to get the cadence of his words right so I could slide through this step.

Pat didn't even blink at my words as he got up and yawned and stretched. He placed his tranq gun, one that I didn't originally see on his person before, on the table in front of him.

"Just in case she fights you too much," he said grinning at Dunbar in a disgusting way. I despised being tranq'ed and the thought of Dunbar doing it to me left me a little green.

"If you change your mind and let me play with her when you are done, call me," he said as he turned to leave. The implications of what he meant to do to me, sent a wave of nausea spin in my throat. I had to grit both of our teeth to get through it.

"Enjoy yourself, she will be useless after Aurielle gets through with her, it's such a shame. I heard she is unbelievable in bed," he said, finally walking away. I needed to focus on my task at hand and dissect that little bit of information after. I saw Pat retreat along the grassy path to the soldiers quarters, breathing a sigh of relief at my luck. Maybe the universe didn't have it out for me after all.

I used Dunbar's eyes to check on the men in the tent. They were all still playing, still oblivious to the goings on outside. They didn't look to close to moving much, so I decided it was time to get down to it. I sent a small prayer out to Cole. I didn't think it was possible for him to hear me, but I wanted a little of his strength and I would take it any way I could get it.

_'__Cole, I am about to do something really stupid and I need a little bit of your magic to pull it off. It will be a show of power that cannot be ignored by her, and if this goes bad, I want you to know that I love you. I love London, and I love your child more than anything. No one will touch them, even if I have to destroy them all to make it so. If things go really bad, protect Ari best you can. He is the only reason I am strong enough to attempt this. Give me strength Cole, I'm going to need it,' _I told him mentally. I felt a flicker of something cross my mind, but with both of our minds working it was hard to tell what it was or where it was coming from.

I let my feelings go in a cascade of tears down both of our cheeks. I could feel the wet tracks making Dunbar's face moist and somewhere along the way it burned a little. Like his eyes had never cried before. I grabbed the first part of the cage, and the pain made our dual eyes roll back. It sent sharp stabs of hot lightening up our hands and into my head. It was pain on another level, intensified by both minds, and indescribable feeling that I would never wish on anyone else, enemy or not. I took some steadying breaths and settled in for the task at hand. It was going to be a very long hour.

I felt the sun of my face, and the smell of salt water invading my nose made me realize I was on our beach again. I must have passed out shortly after I sent Dunbar into his own deep sleep. I looked around, the skies were a bright blue. I looked to my left but the chair was empty. Where was he?

I realized we were surrounded by people and I couldn't find Ari anywhere in the crowd. I looked everywhere but all I saw were strange faces.

I panicked, making a move to get up but something was holding me back. I was still in the chains. I was frantically pulling at the restraints, but I couldn't move. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on calming my breathing before I had a panic attack and passed out.

I found myself finally being able to take in deeper breaths and slowed my heart rate back down. When I opened my eyes all the strangers were gone. I looked everywhere but there wasn't a trace of the earlier crowd. I was alone.

I kept looking to his empty chair, waiting for his long body to fill it's seat. I was supposed to see Ari when I came here. The disappointment at realizing it wasn't going to happen crushed me. I needed him, I felt like a lost little boat far out past where I should be. He wouldn't let me get so far out I couldn't come back, he would make sure I didn't get lost.

I waited a while for him, I just sat there staring off into the water jumping at every sound and sight. I realized at some point that I was crying...no sobbing. I never cried this hard and it scared me. I wasn't who I thought I was anymore, and that made me nervous for how I was going to deal with what came my way. Despite what life threw at me, I could always count on me. How was I supposed to handle what happened, if I wasn't sure of who I was anymore? I could feel my panic attack coming back, and this time closing my eyes to wish it away wasn't working.

I heard something in the distance and my eyes snapped violently open. I could swear it sounded like Ari, which was making me panic even further. I heard it again, it was so faint like a whisper in the wind, but it was there. I leaned this way and that, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

It was then I saw him, out about twenty feet from shore in the water. He was either standing there or very aptly treading water, I couldn't tell. He didn't look like he was having a hard time, but I could make out a look of fear and pain in his eyes when he sighted me. It snapped something in me and I tried futile harder to get free. I looked down and noticed that the bars of the cage were coming up from the sand, like retractable walls that were slowly closing me in.

I took one last look at Ari, and I couldn't see him anymore. Had he gone under?

I could hear myself screaming, but it took me while in my hazy dream laden brain to figure out what I was saying. It was his name. I could smell the blood welling up from where I was yanking on my restraints. I couldn't stop yelling and trying to wrench myself free of the restraints. After what felt like a lifetime, my body gave out and I fell to the ground instantly passing out.

I heard Aurielle come up, stomping her way up to the cage. Or what was left of the cage. I could hear some footsteps behind her and noticed that she had Reynold, Cy, and Swift with Sofia coming up behind her. I couldn't be sure but I think I smelled Carols and Eddie there was well. They were all coming up on me fast, clipping an almost jog. I hastily looked to check my wrists and ankles but didn't see any blood. I shuddered at the memory of the beach, I still felt a little panicked and distraught. The dreams were nice but I could do without that particular nightmare.

I could feel this disbelief and fury coming off my mother as she marched up to where I was. I didn't see any of this of course. I was barely able to keep my eyes open and this was where I needed Cole's strength the most. I sent out a searching thought to him, and felt an incredible rush of energy go through my head clearing out my exhaustion. I think it more coincidence than anything, considering I had spent every last drop of magic I could still use conserving my energy best I could. A small part of me hoped that he was there with me. I must have been delusional because I heard a whispered _Gorgeous..._ coming from somewhere in my head. It filled my eyes with tired tears until I shook them off. I would back in my tent and asleep soon and hopefully I would see him again.

"Gods..." I heard Reynold say as they stopped short of the sight in front of them. I was sitting silently and calmly at the table and chair that was put in the cage for me. My arms were clasped neatly in my lap, fingers interlaced. I had all restraints perfectly sitting where they should be, still attached to the ground anchors. Even my feet were still and steady, with the heavy metal cuffs resting peacefully on my ankles. They were in pristine condition, and this is what made all seven of them gape at me.

Their gaze swung back to the cage, which was now dismantled in a perfect rendition of the way in which I had dissasembled it when I was younger, right before my mother 'died'. The pieces were scattered here and there, I even went through the extra effort to break some pieces in half so that they had to be welded back together. It was one of the advantages of Dunbar's strength. I could feel my headache coming back, and I tried my best to ignore it.

I saw them inspect where Dunbar was sitting at the guard table outside the circle of scrap metal that littered the floor. He had several empty beer cans in front of him as well as a good dozen covering the ground at his feet, and he looked to be passed out cold from drink but otherwise completly unharmed. If they were going to wake him they would hear a story of a guard that had drunk too much, and fell asleep at his post. He was known for liking his ale, it was a known fact. He even had been written up lately for it. He couldn't be a more perfect victim.

"What did you do Ryann?" Aurielle asked incredulously. I was so glad I could finally shatter a little of her mask. She didn't catch herself in time, and a small sickly scent of fear snaked it's way towards me. She should be scared, one of these days she was going to slip up and I would end her games permanently.

"I didn't do a thing," I told her holding up my restraints for her to see. "These chains are quite the upgrade from the previous model mother. I couldn't remove myself from them if I tried. Not that I did. What metal combination did you find so that I couldn't heal myself? My face hurts like hell." Besides the shock factor of my words, I was really curious what she used. I had managed to heal Dunbar but the cut on my face was still crusty with my blood. She didn't answer me at all, continuing to stare at the carnage around me, like a tornado vicitm looking ar her once perfect home.

"I know this was you Ryann. This...you must have..." she said to me pointing wildly at the area around me, trailing off as she spoke. The funny thing was, she was sure it was me but she had no way to prove it. She knew it had to be me but physically it wasn't me and that had her confused. I realized no one else was talking, or moving, or looking at each other. They should all be scared, I almost laughed aloud at the feeling of it and I heard a little giggle escape me. They had no idea what I could do.

"It was so strange mother, I was starting to feel tired and so I fell asleep. I was assuming you had forgotten to come and get me. I closed my eyes for a little while and when I awoke, I noticed someone had messed with my nice cage. It's remarkable isn't it? It must have hurt so much to do this to the metal, I mean I bet holding it longer than five seconds would be excruciating." I inspected my nails at this point, trying to look bored.

"You..." Aurielle started in again. I rolled my eyes, she was like a broken record.

"You are welcome to inspect me," I said as I crossed my legs slowly. I caught the male eyes leering at my legs exposed by the long slit in my dress. The women honed in on my heels, there wasn't a scuff or a scratch on them. Even the soles looked pristine. The last of the hope in Aurielle's eyes died in that moment. It was clear I hadn't moved so much as six inches in my time here. I had to fight the smile forming on my face.

I looked back at her, noticing her frame straighten a bit at her coming idea. I knew I would have to pay for this little stunt but it was worth it just to see her face now. I would face my penance, but not before everyone here knew I was stronger and smarter than Aurielle. That no one could control me. It was essential they knew this if I was going to accomplish what I wanted.

"While I investigate this further, you will remain here in your clearly impenetrable restraints," she said to me with a sadistic smile adorning her face. "When I have ascertained what has happened you will be released, in the mean time I would get comfortable. It could take a while to interrogate the parties involved." She walked away as everyone walked away behind her, the only one to linger was Cy who I could swear was sporting a smile illuminated in the moonlight. I was vastly glad I fed from Dunbar before I healed him. I had a feeling I would be here for a while.


	8. Chapter 14 & 15

**Chapter 14**

It was raining again, and while the climate here was steadily hot, the constant rain had made my skin so cold I couldn't hold back the shivers that racked my body. I was going on day five of being out here, without food or shelter, and the last two had been plagued with storms. I didn't notice the landscape of camp having this much rain before and I thought it was some kind of cosmic joke that the rainy season seemed to coincide with my punishment. I knew my mother couldn't control that part, but by the look on her face when she passed by me, she couldn't have planned it better.

I could smell blood, and I realized that my hands and feet had cut open the scabs that had formed there yesterday. I was shaking so much that the metal cuffs were starting to rub and cut into the soft flesh again. The same metal also prevented me from healing myself, or shifting, as I found out shortly after my mother left me out here. I couldn't even pull out my fangs very far, and I was getting flashbacks to being chipped. That part was the hardest deal with.

I had thought about ripping off the restraints, but that would play right into Aurielle's hands. It would prove her theory that I had caused the destruction the other night. I had come too far down this plan to abandon it because of a little rain.

I ran through all the scenarios of how I could get out of this, but in the end every one was too risky.

I jerked at the clap of thunder that exploded over my head, and the downpour became heavier. I could feel my hair matted to my face and I noticed the acrid stench of sweat clinging to the pathetic excuse for a dress I was now wearing. The rain was coming down in sheets, so I assumed the position I had been holding for a while. I had my head drooped down far enough that the rain would flow off my head instead of into my eyes. I tucked my hands in and curled my upper body into a small ball and it provided enough warmth and shelter to relax a bit. With little options, I chose to close my eyes and practice my meditation.

I head them approach when the rain had slowed more of a drizzle. It was Aurielle, Reynold, Cy, Swift, and...Steph. I hadn't seen her since she had gotten back. If I was honest with myself I was a bit disappointed she didn't show up here to see me before now.

I opened my eyes and straightened myself a little. I could see the blood coming in a small trickle down my ankles and wrists. I hoped Aurielle failed to notice, I didn't want to give her the satisfaction. I ignorned everyone else, and focused on Steph. I got a cold mask as a reply to my stare. She looked at me, but was keeping herself distant. I didn't know if that was good or bad for me.

"I'm sure you are curious as to how my investigation is going," Aurielle started in. I gave her the same response as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Silence. I think I heard Steph sigh when I didn't say anything, or maybe it was Reynold. My senses weren't great after spending this many days out here without food or water. If I hadn't taken Dunbar's blood before I would be in deep shit right now.

"Well, if you must know, I have been so busy that I haven't had the proper time to spend on it. Steph has brough back some useful information from her trip so we will be going over that for the next, oh couple of days or so. Unless you have more to say about what happened the other night?" she asked raising her eyebrows in question.

It was a tempting offer. I could do another couple of days, if one of these assholes would break and get me a little blood. It wouldn't take much to keep me going. I just had to stay the course, it was clear she wasn't getting any information out of anyone else or I would have been punished far worse than this by now.

I looked up and gave my mother a shrug, not saying a thing to her. I saw a flash of irritation and anger in her face and it was surprising. She should be happy I was going to be stuck out here longer. I thought she wanted to watch me rot away out here? Maybe she did need me alive for something. She made an annoyed grunt, and then turned to leave. Interesting to say the least.

Before she got far I heard Steph say, "If you are going to leave her out here longer she is going to need blood. Otherwise she's going to die out here, and everything will be a waste." It held all the warmth of a person discussing a root canal. When Aurielle didn't say anything back Swift stepped up.

"I can give her some blood, it will only take a little, and then I'll meet you back for the meeting," he said finally looking at me, taking a few steps in my direction. His eyes were full of panic and concern for me. It was like a punch to the gut to see him looking at me like that. It physically hurt and I had to turn my eyes from him. We were on different sides of this now, and it would be good for me to start remembering that.

"Don't worry about me Swift, when Francisco and his buddies gave me my bon voyage, I looked far worse remember?" I knew my jab hit the mark when he flinched back. I never talked about what he had done to me so I could leave him. I knew it was part of the rules, and while it was savage and brutal, is part of that world that I accepted going in. I didn't make it easy for Swift, and he almost put a stop to it. In the end I got the beating of a lifetime and a life lesson that can only be learned through blood.

"You will do no such thing, Steph can do it," Aurielle said briskly. I saw Swift's jaw get hard at the command. He wasn't used to being talked to that way. He must really want to get revenge on Marcus to be putting up with her shit.

Everyone turned to walk away, following my mother's lead out the way they came. Steph remained, and was currently pinning me down with a hard stare. I wasn't sure what she was trying to accomplish so I met her stare, mustering up any strength I could muster. She shook her head from side to side and turned to walk away. I tried not to panic at her retreating back but I closed my eyes in silent defeat.

I head an odd noise and snapped my eyes open to see Steph dragging a chair over to where I was seated. I tried not to look to relieved to see her, but it must have showed a little too much on my face because she looked at me with a twinge of pity.

"I'm gone for a few days and this is what happens," she said to be shaking her head a bit. I was glad she was trying to lighten the mood. I heard some distant thunder heralding the promise of more rain and tried not to grimace at the thought.

"Well, things were far too dull around here, you know everyone mucking around and taking themselves too seriously. Someone had to teach them a lesson."

"Teach Aurielle a lesson you mean," she stated. I rolled my eyes, she wasn't going to beat around the bush then. Just as I was about to speak she silenced me with a finger. "And what a lesson she is learning Ryann. I haven't seen her this fired up at all since we have been here. I don't think I need to tell you that if you wish to come out of the alive, antagonizing her is pointless. It may be amusing, some may find this interesting, and some find it insulting. None of that matters because you are slowly cementing yourself as an entertaining fool," she said as she reached to pull a knife out from her boot. I raised my eyebrows at her but she ignored me and continued on with her lecture as she cleaned the blade on her pant leg.

"I have some things coming up that I think you would be interested in doing with me. I cannot do any of it with you sitting out here looking someone's vampire Barbie that was staked and left out in the rain. I will intercede with Aurielle on your behalf, but this is the one and only time I will help you out anymore. You can save your breath on a thank you, Cy asked me to step in as well, and here I am," she said making a show of gesturing around her. I made another move to talk and she gave me another look that told me she wished me to stay silent.

She made a slit in her forearm, and my eyes flashed at the sight of her blood welling up and dripping down her arm and down her slender fingers. I felt my gaze follow the path of the blood. If I wasn't so dehydrated I might have drooled. In the back of my mind I still couldn't believe she was willing to help me out.

My hands moved of their own accord and the chains snapped tight, signaling I could reach her on my own. I let out a strangled groan. She pulled her chair closer, and then a little closer still, sitting at an intimate distance to me. She held her arm out to me, putting it so close to my head that I didn't have to lean in far to lean down and clamp my teeth on her arm. I used my hands to secure it to my face and let her feed me.

My fangs protruded enough, almost at full length and I realized how starved I must have been for them to come out so far with the chains on. I pulled in her blood, tasting her own unique flavor. It was surprised at how sweet her blood tasted. It was like drinking a fine wine, or a rich champagne compared to a dull beer. I pulled in more some more of her delicious blood and I opened my eyes to gauge if I was pushing it too far but I saw no anger in her face. I pulled in another deep drag of blood knowing I needed to get as much in as she would let me. We were very close to each other, and I slowly became aware that a group of the male soldiers had gathered to watch us. Men, it didn't matter what species, if you put two women together at close range and they would come running.

We looked at each other as I took some more blood from her. There was nothing sexual about it, and our eyes held intrigue as opposed to lust. The uneducated outsider would never understand the feeling. Feeding from someone was about as intimate as it gets for two people and often was bestowed as a sign of trust.

I held her stare and she held mine, although she was keeping her feelings close to the chest, it was a special moment none the less. I knew in the back of my mind it could all be a clever trap, to lure me into trusting her. I could run away with conspiracy theories until the cows come home and it wouldn't matter. I didn't care why she did it, she stuck her neck out for me with my mother and that took balls, or in her case guts.

I knew she wouldn't listen to an apology or a thank you, so I did the only thing I could. I hadn't done it with many people, and with the power in my blood I knew she would know it too, making my decision have more meaning.

I let go of her hand, licking the wound to help seal it a little. The endorphins running through both of us left her a little stunned and slow, so she flashed a look of shock and surprise when I brought my own arm up to my mouth, running my fangs down my arm to open the skin for her. I knew her vampire was dominant but sometimes it was hard for those with mixed blood to get their fangs to extend enough to get a good cut.

Steph looked at me for a moment, and then surprised me by taking my arm and bringing it to her own mouth. Just as she was about to bite down she hesitated for a second, and then overcame whatever inner battle she was waging and took a long drag on my artery. Buy the strength of her pull I knew that her vampire was very strong. I might not have even needed to help her out. I saw her eyes grow heavy and I knew she was understand a little of the power that flows in me. She took another pull and her eyes flashed wide as I imagined the sensation of my blood mixing with hers over took her body. It wouldn't last long without constant feedings, but she would have a surge of power for the next day or two.

She stopped to take a breath, a line of blood running lazily down the corner of her mouth, and I saw her indecision about going back for seconds. I would let her take more, I owed her that, but I was hoping to conserve as much as I could. We looked at each other and she dropped my hand back into my lap. We both stared off in different directions, it was like the morning after sleeping with someone. Awkward.

I broke the silence, "Your fae is very strong in your blood, it was like blood flavored Kool-Aid." I teased her a little but it was true.

"My father was fae, I get many things from him and the taste of blood is one of them," she told me cryptically, rolling the sleeve of her arm back down. I could tell there was pain in her past, especially with him by the looks of it.

"Your blood is..." she said to me, searching for a word. I gave her time to think, I had been told taking my blood can be very overwhelming.

"Your blood is...electric? No..." she finished quizzically shaking her head like it wasn't quite right. "No, it was like eating dessert while licking a battery." She said the last part with a small smile. Not a half bad analogy.

"You sure know how to compliment a lady," I said to her in a fake southern accent. When I looked back to her, she had slipped back on her mask, there was no light or dark in her expression. It was impressive how fast she could switch gears.

She looked to me as she stood, I was suddenly exhausted, and I leaned back in my plastic arm chair dazedly swinging my arm off the side in a circular motion. It was the first moment of peace I had out here in a while. She sighed at the looks of me, I knew I must have looked like a mangy dog.

"I'll talk with Aurielle, in the meantime try not to do anything else to piss her off," Steph said as she left me behind never once looking back. I glanced in her direction as she walked away and saw Swift and Cy standing off to the side of the armory tent, eyes flashing in the early dusk light, looking hungry and horny. I shot them a glare, typical men.

**Chapter 15**

I spent two more days out there, and by that time it made me wonder just how long Aurielle would have left me out there if Steph hadn't stepped up for me. Eventually she sent Swift to come and get me. I would find out later he volunteered to come out. I was pissed as hell at him so it surprised me he didn't have the sense enough to stay the hell away from me.

I caught his scent before I saw him and I was a good bit shocked Sofia wasn't with him. I bet she wasn't happy about that either. I tried to muster up a smile at seeing him, but failed aiming for a more realistic tired expression.

I had a bad morning out here, my mother was trying to test me by having most of the upper level soldiers come out and do some training exercises right in from of the armory tent. She was pacing back and forth in front of them, making suggestions and flirting with some of the more handsome men. Reynold looked like he was going to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to their tent. When I laughed at the thought out loud, she snapped her attention to me and scowled. Deciding I needed to be punished further, she brought some of them over to taunt me.

"My my Ryann, you sure do look lovely this morning," she said coming close to me and running a hand over my hair. It was tangled and matted and when she tried to run her fingers through it, the stands got instantly caught. That didn't stop her from pulling her hand right through my long locks anyhow. She got a handful of dirty hair as a souvenir, and me an instant headache.

"You know everyone thought you looked so much like me when you were a baby. A little mini version of me, even with the darker hair. Then as you grew you started to favor your father more and more. Now, well we look more like sisters. What do you think Bill?" When the young soldier looked a little panicked, clearly not sure what the correct answer was so she cut him off.

"No, we don't look much alike anymore, you're right Bill," she continued with her imaginary conversation. "But don't let that fool you, we are about as similar as two people could be. She acts just like me, well except for the moment. Right now she is acting like those fucking idiot friends of hers." She finished her sentence and looked at me to see my reactions. There was no way in hell I would give her the satisfaction, even if the mention of them made my blood boil. I continued to say nothing at all, I knew by personal experience that ignoring her was my best bet.

"It's a pity you will never see them again, although I think that's the better option for them. I heard about what you did to poor Cole. That boy sure did get the worst of it. Now I hear London is his mate, and pregnant at that. It would be a shame your poor behavior reflected on them," she said with a satisfied smile gracing her face.

"Is that a threat mother?" I replied back mainly because there was no way I was going to sit here and listen to this any longer. I was about a hairs breath from challenging her, and most likely dying in the process.

"You know who else I feel bad for, Dominic. Big, strong, handsome Dom. I mean you must feel awful for destroying him so. He lost the most that night, I told your sister she would never be with him after all that. She didn't listen to well and insisted she would get him in the end. He is practically ruined now I'm sure. A bachelor forever that one will be Bill, mark my words," she said to her uncomfortable companion. He looked at and mouthed an apology. I gave him a small shrug. I didn't blame him for a thing.

When I opened my mouth to speak and shut Aurielle up, I instantly closed it, hearing Stephs words replay in my head. I so wanted to challenge her but right now I would have a hard time killing a fly.

I sought her out and found her staring at me from a formation not to far from where I was. She nodded her head at me in encouragement. My mother narrowed her eyes at my lack of my response and continued.

"But I think the biggest tragedy is dragging that human into all this. What was his name...Ari?" It was automatic, a fierce and low growl came from my lips. It surprised me enough to rattle my facade. I tried to hide it with a cough but I managed to snag my mothers attention on my intense reaction. Fuck.

"Yes, I hear you formed quite a bond with him. I don't blame you though Ryann he looks delicious, and so masculine too. If he were a shifter he would be an alpha, no doubt. You should be thanking me for taking you away from him, watching a human mate die while you can do nothing would destroy you. They can be so fragile, it makes everything so exciting but the steaks are too high. Just ask Swift, if you ask me Marcus did him a favor," she told me leaning in and whispering that last part. I saw Swift stiffen at his place in the field. My mother was an moron if she thought that comment would go unnoticed. What Marcus did to him was unforgivable and it was, I was betting, the only reason he was putting up with Aurielle.

In an effort born of iron will, I scooted my chair and turned it to face the other direction chin held high. There was nothing to be gained my participating in this taunting and I knew if I was going to win against her I had to play this smart.

I smelled Cy come up, unsure as to his motives but glad all the same. I felt like I could count on him to side with me, even if only a little.

"Steph wanted me to tell you she will be ready to head out in the morning. Will you be releasing Ryann soon? She will need to be...cleaned," he said taking stock of my current state. I might have to be flea dipped too.

"Do you think she can be controlled out there? You know her best, can Steph keep her from running?" Aurielle was glaring at Cy, looking for a sign of false confidence.

"Steph is one of the best magic users I have ever seen, and her tracking abilities are unparalled. If anyone can take her out and keep her under control it's her," Cy told her. I tried to focus, but all I could think about was the fact that they were willing to take me outside of here. I would have to spend the night staying up and going over all my options. This was an opportunity that I could not pass up, but I had to be careful and make sure the time was right.

I heard Aurielle snicker and growl, most likely at the thought of having to release me. She thought for a moment and then rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Yes, you can tell the guards to have her released after dinner," she said as she looked to me sounding bored. I continued to stare at her, hoping my face was schooling my features. She seemed satisfied that the news brought me no happiness, not that I would show her that I was so fucking glad I was getting out of here I could have tap danced.

Aurielle started to walk away and then came back to where I was seated, leaning in so that she was face to face with me. I shuddered, being in close proximity to her aura left me feeling soiled. Considering the state I was in that was saying something.

"I am allowing you to go with Steph tomorrow, but I want to make something very clear. If you attempt to run, or to attack, I won't bother bringing you back. I will hunt down and kill everyone you have ever known, I will burn down everyplace you ever held dear. It would be unwise to play any more games with me while you stay here Ryann, I grow tired of your tricks. Next time you pull a stunt and question my authority I will bring in the human, and he will be my next meal."

I was brought out of my memory of the morning as Swift bent down and examined my ankles. He saw the state of my wounds and whistled.

"This isn't going to feel so great, so I am just going to do it quick," he said as inserted the metal key in. My skin was wet and softly scabbed and currently stuck to the inside of the metal cuffs. I had another dream, while I don't remember the specifics of it I could guess it was a nightmare. It seemed I was wrestling with my restraints during the dream and it had rubbed off some of the harder scabs, exposing some raw skin again.

He moved the cuff around, separating some of the skin but even with one of the restraints off I could feel the magic coming to life inside my body.

"You can go quicker, once you get all the chains off I can heal them a little," I said through clenched teeth.

"You can't do it now?" he asked me looking confused.

"The metal prevents healing, it can't contain all my magic but the major stuff is repressed. If I had to guess it was formulated specifically so that I couldn't heal." He looked at me horrified.

"I just though you were being stubborn..." he said looking embarrassed.

"I'm always stubborn Alex, this time though I had little choice in the matter. I couldn't get free." I chose my words carefully, it was possible physically just not strategically. He broke our eye contact and began working on my other leg.

"If I had known you were suffering this much I would have tried to get you out. I would have made Aurielle listen to me," he said as he took my hands in his. He rubbed his fingers over the skin of my wrists. I leaned my head down so that I could look at him.

"I should tell you that it's okay, you couldn't have known but we both know I would be lying. The Alex I knew would never have tolerated anyone doing that to me. He sure as hell would never let someone like my mother treat him the way she has. I miss that man, not the one who would turn their back on me, on his own honor." I was too tired to stoke his ego or try to smooth things out. He messed up and I couldn't let him get away with it.

He released one of my hands, not saying anything back yet. He always chose his words carefully so I gave him the time.

The chains effects were so slight now I could send some slight impulses into my limbs to start healing. I was too weak to heal them completely but anything would be an improvement.

He continued in silence as he removed the last cuff. I lifted my hand slowly, moving my shoulders and elbows in different directions. It felt wonderful and terrible all at the same time, and I groaned at the sensation of pleasure and pain. I did the same with my lower limbs and while I wanted so badly to stand there was no telling if my legs would hold me up. I looked to Swift again finding him staring at me trying to find the right words.

"Ryann," he started to say, looking at me with repentant eyes. I didn't want to hear it though so I cut him off.

"Whatever you are going to say save it. I can see you feel bad and while that consoles me, it doesn't fix a damn thing. I just want you to answer a question." I told him. He nodded for me to continue.

"Is Marcus worth all this?" I asked him. He looked at me, a little shock on his face at my directness.

"You are about to do something that could ruin the entire empire you have built for yourself. Wait, I can guarantee you that it will. Aurielle has a one track mind, she will do whatever she can to secure the destruction she seeks. She will not care who gets sacrificed either. Don't be a casualty of her war.

"I know all this Ryann. I have known your mother for a long time and I know what her goal is. It just so happens it coincides with my own. I have let Marcus go for far too long, he must pay." He said with some much intent and rage it rattled me a bit. We never talked about my father when I was with him, despite what some may think my survival instincts were still intact. Now I knew it was a good decision. The raw pain and wrath on his face proved that some wounds never heal.

"I had an opportunity to wipe him from existence, possibly the best opportunity I have had in a century. I have to take it. I have to try, for her." He said it like he really wanted me to understand. I wasn't sure I did but I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Marcus killed his mate and it was such an unspeakable horror that I couldn't really relate.

"You still mourn her," I said softly to him, sweeping a swath of hair off his face and tucked it behind his hair. I understood loss and it was one of the reasons why I was drawn to him in the beginning. His eyes shone with the same pain as mine.

"No Ryann, I do not mourn," he said taking my bloodied wrists in his hands as he licked my wounds. It was a intimate gesture, one that shape shifters often did with ones they loved. I could feel the saliva and it's healing magic make my skin feel numb. I sighed finding relief from the pain.

"But I still dream of avenging her," he said back to me, looking up at me from his work. His eyes roamed my face.

"No one can ease that pain or the drive I have in me to complete my revenge. I have lived a long time and I find that what your mother offers is too good to pass on. I must have his head," he told me firmly. I knew that face well, it was his no arguments face.

I shouldn't say it, not with all the people around but I had to try and get through to him. If I could get him on board I might be able to pull this off.

I leaned and softly said, "Well, that settles it then Alex. Care to help me to my feet? If you can make it look like I'm simply leaning a little I would appreciate it. I'm not too sure they will carry me on their own."

"Of course," he said as the helped me to stand. When we were both standing, I tipped forward on purpose, hoping he would catch me. He didn't miss a beat and had me supported in a close embrace.

"Easy there Ry," he said to me as I faked a wobble. I took my opportunity and crossed me fingers.

"I don't want a response, but I have to say this. I can get you Marcus, if that is what you really want. I can do it without you going to war like this. If you get me out of here I promise you, I will deliver him right to you. Think about it Alex," I whispered to him. I took a deep breath in and steadied myself as I gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Lead the way," I told him letting him know we needed to move.

I didn't want to get my hopes up so I avoided looking at him. It was a risky move, if he wanted to he could take this information to my mother.

"What did Sofia do when you told her you were coming to get me," I asked him finally looking to him. A sly smile spread on his face.

"I told her in front of everyone this morning, she had the social graces not to make a scene. I'll get it later, but by then it won't be as bad," he said laughing softly to himself. I didn't envy him that bitch had claws.

"Why didn't you tell me what Sofia did you that night by the bar?" he asked me. It was a little out of left field so it must have been bothering him.

"I could tell she really loves you. She was protecting you, even if she was cruel and she obviously enjoyed torturing me with it. I could never fault someone for protecting what is theirs." He looked to me with a face of surprise. He wasn't expecting the answer.

"Don't look so shocked Alex, you did the same with me," I said to him with genuine affection. We walked the rest of the way in companionable silence. I still didn't know what to do with him.

"Would it be too much to ask if you can take me in the back to clean up? I think I need some help getting in," I told him with a wince as I stumbled over a hole in the ground.

"Sure thing sunshine," he said back. It was his nickname for me, mainly because I was so sarcastic and bitchy all the time. That and it made me mad.

We made it to the tent, I was too exhausted to even worry about all the prying eyes. I pointed to where my shower was. He took one look at it and shook his head. He marched me right back out before I could even ask what he was doing. I recognized where he was going and I went stock still.

"Don't worry, Aurielle is gone. Reynold should be gone most of the day as well. I can stand guard for a while, and then if I'm not back in my tent Sofia will have my balls." I laughed.


	9. Chapter 16 (In progress)

**Chapter 16**

We all sat around Marcus' office and the space seemed uncomfortable and small with all the people in it. Dom and I took the chairs directly opposite his massive desk, London sat on my armrest having refused the seat. She looked like at this point it was more comfortable for her to stand, plus the glare she gave me when I suggested it, didn't leave room to negotiate. Luca, Juke, and Ari all fanned out behind us looking like sentinel guards. If that wasn't enough, the tension in the room was palpable.

We debated all morning whether or not to bring Ari with us but in the end he knew the big picture of everything. The things we often missed he always picked up on. I don't think we would know half of what we did without his skills. I instructed him not to talk unless Marcus adressed him but the devious gleam in his eye told me he would do what he wanted. That guy had balls of steel to go against Ryann's father like this without hesitation. Marines.

I heard the door open to the office and Marcus came strolling in. He always was a tough one to read so I couldn't tell what he was thinking about this meeting. He sat calmly at his desk, folding his hands in front of him with delicate precision. It annoyed me to no end.

"Good morning," he started in before I or Dom could talk.

"Good morning Alpha," Dom said nodding his head and I could feel Juke doing the same from the back row.

"I must say I am vastly curious about what you all want to discuss with me." He was staring right at Ari now, I think maybe bringing him was a bad idea. I heard Dominic clear his voice.

"Alpha, we have come across some information that might help you in ascertaining where the rouge lair might be located," he said. I looked to Marcus and saw his jaw harden. We had very little information but the councils had even less. By the glare in his eyes he wasn't to happy about it either. He held his hand up, gesturing for us to continue.

"We have been keeping close tabs on anyone we though could be used by the rogues to encourage Ryann to help them," he started, but was quickly interrupted.

"That is supposing she is not already a voluntary participant, Dominic," Marcus cut in looking pleased about his idea. I could feel the tension thicken further. He continued, thankfully ignoring the comment for now.

"We have no evidence of that yet Alpha," he said carefully but even I noticed the tick in his jaw about the insinuation.

"Not yet.." he said drawing out his words. He wanted nothing more, and now I wondered if we should scrap this whole plan entirely.

"We have reason to believe that Swift and his crew have been recruited to join," I said, speaking over Dom. I needed to give him a moment to calm down before this whole meeting got blown to shit.

I looked to Marcus and noticed he looked a little shocked, and perhaps a bit pale. I should have brought a fucking camera to capture the moment, the mighty Alpha stone really was scared of someone.

"That is an unfortunate development, but do you have information on their location?" he said through clenched teeth. The stakes just got much higher and Marcus wanted blood now. There was no going back, but we knew that going in. I took a deep breath.

"We think it is likely they are located somewhere in Indonesia. I know that it is not specific enough, but we are working on honing in on where the likely place would be." Marcus looked like a shark in water.

"How exactly are you going to pin it down Cole?" he asked me.

"London has been working on dream walking with Ryann. We were getting a good sense of location and surroundings from the dreams, and when I compared that with exile migrations to the area, I am confident that they are located there. Luca also questioned some of Swift's staff that was left behind, and they confirmed the climate they thought they were headed to." I noticed his eyes dart to London who seemed oddly calm besides me.

"Is this true London?" he asked her.

"Yes Marcus, I have been able to connect to her and I think in time we will be able to get a better idea of where they are," she told him confidently.

"And you think you can get her to talk more, I almost forgot that you two used to do that with one another." He said with an odd look filling his face. London seemed to be the one person he couldn't be rude to, and it made me wonder why.

"Well, I mean...um Ari is the one I have been bringing in. Because of the baby," she told him with a bit of a stutter.

"You can bring other people in?" he asked her pointedly, uh oh.

"Well it happened on accident really, one night when I was trying to tap into her he ended up being pulled in. They have a bond, powerful enough to allow shared dreams," she said. I heard him suck in a breath at her meaning.

"Impossible," he spat out looking to Ari and shaking his head.

"Not impossible," Ari said defiantly back to him jutting his chin out at his incredulity. That bastard had balls of steel.

"That is impossible human," he said back again. I could feel the prickles of his anger leaking out.

"She has walked in my own dreams, so it must be," he said back, thankfully in a non-threatening tone.

"I said before, that is not possible. Only true mates are capable of such things and a human cannot be a mate to an immortal." Marcus glared at him in triumph.

"I can prove it," he said straightening up and looking to the bookshelf that lined the back wall of his office.

"Oh I would love for you to," Marcus challenged.

"The woman that is in her dreams, has her picture hanging right above your head," he said as I noticed London falter a second next to me on the chair. Her hand caught my own as she sent me a mental thought.

_He's looking at a picture of Aurielle, Cole. That is the woman he told us about that is chasing them in her dreams. This is bad._ I felt the blood drain from my face, I wasn't sure what

_I want you to excuse yourself to use the restroom and pop home. Don't leave and don't open the door for anyone except for one of us._ I told her.

I saw Marcus turn around and he stopped breathing for a moment. He slowly stood and reached for a picture he kept there of him and his wife a charity event shortly before her death.

London excused herself to the bathroom as planned, and Marcus didn't even respond to her request as he continued to stare at the picture. Thankfully she didn't wait for one and left without notice. I saw Marcus sit back down and swivel to face us, a look of pure horror and outrage was etched in every single line of his face.

"You must be mistaken, my wife was killed some time ago," he said with little emotion.

"Outside of your daughter, I have no stake in your world," Ari told him stepping forward to meet Marcus' gaze. "I have no interest in deceiving you, or tricking you. What I do have an interest in is bringing Ryann home. I have no doubt that it seems impossible, but that is woman that was coming after me and Ryann several times in the dreams. She looks a bit different, a bit older and her hair is not the same, but that is her. I know it with every fiber of my being and with every speck of honor in my blood."

Marcus, who had stood up at some point during Ari's speech sat down when he noticed that Ari wasn't lying. He placed his head in his hands and rocked his head side to side.

"I never thought she would try this so soon," he said to himself in a voice so soft I almost didn't hear it.

"What did you say?" Dom hissed out to him. I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Marcus snapped his eyes up to us and in that instant a cool facade slipped into place.


End file.
